Playing the 'Game'
by Yue Twili
Summary: I just wanted to get through my life. I didn't expect some guy to drag me into Tales of Vesperia. My chances of survival is sticking with the Vesperia crew...but can I really survive the harshness of this new reality? Whatever the case, I HAVE to get home somehow. -Self-Insert-
1. Some Asshole Dragged Me Into a Game!

…There's barely any Tales of Vesperia self-inserts (err, _decent_ ones, sorry). With me being obsessed with Tales of Vesperia lately, I gotta give the self-insert thing one last shot. …If it turns out bad, or if I become a Mary-Sue, you may proceed to kill me.

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but my OCs.**

_There will be spoilers._

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M'kay. Some things about me that you lot won't care about.

My name is Erica. Nothing special about my name – I'm 22 years old, attending my second year of college… Yup, nothing special. I'm what you would consider…an odd ball of sorts; I may be a young adult, but I still have the heart of a child within me (I refuse to let it die…).

Anyways, you're probably wondering why I'm rambling to you all (but you're probably not, to my crappy luck). So…I wanted to ask you a question first:

You ever read those self-insert fanfictions? Yeah, I've read some too, and there are a few decent ones out there (and they take too long to update) that I like.

I'm pretty sure you know where this is going, yeah?

…Yeah, it happened to me too. And I just wanted to go through my life with my, well, life intact and stuff.

It all started off fairly normal. I was on my home from the college after a long day (of English 111, Sociology, Principles of Public Speaking (to help me improve on talking to people better) and Biology Lab), along with some other people who rode on the bus to college – including a couple of my sister's friends and her fiancé. Sure, any other person would take a car or something…but going on the bus is cheaper. Plus, it's a lot easier on our parents; so, it's a win for us.

Thank god that those girls aren't riding (I won't say their names) – especially one of them; she's so damn annoying – but I listen away on my iPod, the volume up to full blast; because you could barely hear anything on the bus (that or maybe I need some new headphones).

The ride is pretty straight forward – we really didn't stop at a gas station or anything (at times, we do) so a lot of people got to their bus stops early.

I ignored everything in the world as I listened to 'Pieces' by Red – I have a habit of listen to the same song over and over again (at times, without realizing it) – watching the landscape go by on the hour long ride back to my sister and I's stop. As I do so, I let my mind drift off into the recesses that…I don't even _want_ to know exists. Doing that helps me relax, but I prefer walking more than anything.

The time I decided to change the song was when I noticed that we went by the small bridge that leads to where a friend of mine lived (of course, she's living with her, um, boyfriend now). That means we're almost there. I put my iPod into sleep mode (I kinda miss my old iPod, where I can freely turn it off and on and save battery power), and stuff it and the headphones into my jacket pocket. It took a few minutes for the bus to pull in at the small gas station that's close to our home (we pretty much live at the crack of the mountain). I gathered my crap and I walked off of the bus, saying "See ya," to our bus driver and walked over to the white tables near the entrance to the small store. At least it's warm, otherwise…yeah, if it was cold then the two of us would wait in the store; a lot people in this area knew our parents, so we're pretty much good.

I just sat down while my sis walked into the store to call home – Mom's off tonight (or not, it really depends on when she's called in) so either she is supposed to pick us up, or Dad. But, at times, our old man would just be late-

Oh. It looks like we didn't have to wait long. There comes Mom's Dodge and- oh great, Po hitched a ride… The dog is sweet, but he's as dumb as a peanut at times. Mom just pulled in and I wordlessly picked up my bag and walked over to my seat, just as Cait got out of the store in a hurried manner; I guess she just noticed Mom pull in when she just got the phone.

I don't feel like getting anything so, after I got in and said "Hey," to Mom, I put my bag in there, adjusted my purse and sat on the car seat as Cait does the same. When she asks if we wanted anything, I just told her that I'm good.

…Of course, we always seem to run out of eggs and bread – those things go fast in our house (if it wasn't one of our cats eating it, it was the rest of us using them for our egg meals; the only meals I could really cook are ramen, omelet and scrambled eggs. It's pitiful, I know, but those are the only things I know how to cook) – so Mom handed Cait her credit card and she quickly made her way in there to get those things. It took a few minutes (along with a couple of things Mom asked for) Cait came back out – as I tried to calm down the psychotic dog who _demands_ to be petted. Soon, we were off.

I barely paid attention to what Mom and Caitlyn are talking about as I tried to keep Po calm – it was like he's a puppy in a body of a dog – and to get him to look out of the window. Of course, the dog is picky of which window to look out of from (and to prevent said dumbass from committing suicide by jumping out of the window like a retard). It wasn't long until we arrived at our house, and I was relieved that we got home – if only to get away from Po. After I put the dog safely on the ground, I got out of the truck and made my way to the door, carrying the bag inside. I just continued to walk to our room, dumped the bag onto the bed and I fell back onto the mattress with a small groan.

"Oh, yeah…" I let out, relaxing my body.

I know that I have to do a few things (homework wise, but I don't want to) and I'm tempted to play on the 3DS to play Ocarina of Time…but, somehow, I don't feel like playing it. I don't know why, but something just…I don't know, I wanted to do something else. I don't know what though.

My mind randomly went to thinking if Mom is making sticky rice for dinner. We have the right ingredients and all…

I can still try to type my story, Angels of Stars. That story is the most popular out of the others I posted up and all; maybe it has something to do that it's one of the few decent Tales of Vesperia and Tales of Symphonia crossovers? I don't know really – seems unlikely, though-

My brain just hit me with an idea. Hey; maybe I should play a bit of Tales of Vesperia! Why not? I've already played the game, so I think I know the front and back of it by now. With the idea in mind, I sat up and moved over to the Xboxes sitting on top of the DirecTV box, and worked on the back of the consoles to hook up ours to the flat screen TV. I picked up the controller, and turned on the Xbox 360 with it.

While the logo for the 360 plays on the screen, I considered taking my purse off…but, I figured that, since I won't play on it long, it probably won't matter. I looked back up and selected my profile to start it up. I frowned a little when I noticed the clock- the damn thing switched it back to 7: 00 AM and to 2005…ish. I quickly fixed it and took the game out (I didn't look at the title long enough, but I know its Bruno's so I better be careful with it) so I can put in Tales of Vesperia.

Once the deed is done, I patiently sat back down on the bed and waited for the disclaimers to go by. Then the beginning music, 'Ring a Bell' started to play and – taking a second to decide – pressed the start button to skip it. I watched it plenty of times, and I have the song on my iPod, so…I'm not really concerned. The title screen appeared and I was about to press start again to get the thing going-

I nearly groaned when I heard the cats fighting…AGAIN! "Dammit, why can't they just-?" I just groaned as I stood up to go and stop the 'brawl'. I wouldn't be surprised if it was Yuri – yes, I named one of the cats Yuri – and Cheddar fighting again. Of course, the 'blonde' cat high-tailed it the moment he saw me. I just nodded and walked back downstairs so that I can play my game.

Okay…should I play a New Game Plus, continue an adventure…or start a new one entirely…?

Hm…welp, I'd like a challenge, so I pressed 'New Game'. It took a few minutes to watch the first anime cutscene, with Estelle introducing the world of Terca Lumireis and explaining about the monsters, the blastia and aer, followed by Dedecchi stealing the core to the aque blastia in the Lower Quarter. Then it showed Flynn and a few knights over monster corpse, said blonde wondering what had happened to the barrier blastia of Halure…and back at Zaphias, the blastia went out of control and started to spew water. I couldn't help but feel sorry for the dude that got swept away…and Estelle had just finished the book she was reading and was getting up from the table when the knight knocked. After she let out a gasp of surprise, it soon switches over to the main male protagonist, Yuri.

It took me a few minutes to get through the first few minutes, taking control of Yuri (the said male finding out that the core was stolen, making his (or my) way to the Royal Quarter, buying some Magic Lens and getting the Synopsis from the Wonder Log) up until I entered the Royal Quarter.

…You know, I kinda wonder how a couple of rocks could knock out helmeted people like that. Either the helmets aren't as sturdy as they looked…or Yuri just had a hell of an arm to do that.

Anyways, I directed Yuri over to the mansion where 'Mordio' is, sneaking through the window and checking the doors (and other things) before Dedecchi escaped via smoke bomb and getting out of the mansion…running into Adecor and Boccos.

I grinned as I watched the scene unfold.

"Yuri! So it is you who are the cause of all this commotion!" Adecor exclaimed.

Boccos shook his head, as if sadly. "I know he's poor, but breaking into an aristocrat's house? My, my, how the mighty have fallen!"

Yuri made a brief annoyed look, and made a blank look as he put his hand onto his hip. "Just what I needed, Tweedle A and Tweedle B."

"I say, don't you dare call me that!"

"Just what is a Tweedle anyway?" Came the indignant exclamation from Adecor and a question from Boccos at the same time.

Yuri suddenly noticed Dedecchi getting onto the carriage and the man tried to run after him but was stopped by the 'Tweedles', their weapons thrust forward and their chins upright.

"There's no hope of escape," Boccos stated boldly, "we've got you surrounded!"

Yuri just let out an exasperated sigh. "Does it look like I'm trying to escape? See, its stuff like this that keeps you guys from getting promoted."

"You did _not_ just say that!"

"I say, you take that back!" They sounded pissed.

The carriage soon disappeared…leaving Yuri alone with the moronic knights. "Enough beating around the bush I guess," Yuri said as he thrust his sword to the side (making the sheath fly off somewhere), props the sword up and catches it by the hilt.

I grinned when the 'tutorial' battle started and I pulled the controller back in anticipation to see the comical scenes-

The screen flickered, and static covered it. I stared at the screen with my brows raised. "Whut…?" I let out, blinking in shock.

Did- Did the game just-? Aw dammit! Why? I was getting to the good part!

I sighed. Oh well- maybe the Xbox got hot and done that. I guess I can play it later-

…Did I just imagine that? I blinked and slowly put the controller down, sitting up and edging over to the screen to get a better look. Did…did I just saw someone on the screen? It could have been my imagination, since I kept thinking someone was calling out to me as I was on my rambles-

The person appeared again, and opened their eyes. I didn't get a good look at the person (my brain managing to register a pair of amber eyes) when they – he – said, _"Found you._"

A pair of arms came out of the screen and grabbed onto my jacket and-

I barely registered that I screamed as I was dragged _into_ the _freaking TV_! What the hell?!

What happened next, I could barely remember, but I think I remember trying to wrestle the guy's grip off of me and noticed this…strange black blob near us, my purse getting pulled off of me and I screamed again.

Then, it all stopped when I…I think I landed on something. I took in a breath through my teeth and I heard a groan of pain-

Wait. That doesn't sound like me. Now that I thought about it…there's something kinda…soft under me. But what _is_ that soft thing…?

I was tempted to check and see if I had broken something, but I wasn't sure if I had broken my arms- until a rational part of me told me that, if I had, then I would've screamed in agony by now. After a few moments, I found that it was right-

"Uh…you alright?"

Huh?

I didn't realize that my eyes were closed and I opened them with a bit of difficulty. It took a while for my eyes to adjust, and I found myself staring up at…the sky? I blinked. When did I get outside? "Huh?" Was my intelligent response.

"Well, seems like you're alright," I eyes went wide when the same voice spoke again; a voice that's…familiar. I slowly pushed myself to sit up, as the voice continued with, "Anyways, c'mon Repede, we better go and catch that thief."

Once I sat up, I looked to the source-

And I stared. "…Whut?" I let out, because…okay, seriously, I really couldn't believe what I'm seeing. There's-There's no way-

I heard metallic footsteps and a soft groan before I suddenly found five…knights (yes, they look _exactly_ like knights) pointing their swords at…us (holy shit, was all I could thought).

"Looks like I won't be catching up with that carriage anything soon," that was…Yuri (I still couldn't believe it).

"How typical of the Schwann brigade," I heard a familiar, incredibly haughty voice coming from behind the knights, "they can't even manage to capture a single lowlife."

I slowly stood up – taking a moment to look down and jump away in shock that I was, in fact, lying on the two knights from earlier – and looked up at…

Wow. Just wow. I thought that Cumore looked faggot-y from behind the screen. Now that I'm up close (or close to it) I could see that he's…not really bad looking – but, seriously, he needed to get rid of that lipstick. His clothes looked kinda girly too.

"C-Captain Cumore!" I actually let out a shriek when I heard Adecor exclaim next to me – the two are standing up; they were laying on the ground the last I checked. Those two are far more resilient than I gave them credit. "I say, our apologies for this unsightly display."

I turned back to see the pink clad captain in his prick glory as he just turns to his side, not even sparing the two hapless knights a single glance. I…actually feel sorry for them; having this guy as their superior must have been hell.

"I'm afraid the Imperial Knights have no use for you lowborn scum," he states, gesturing to the two idiots.

I frowned. "The only scum I see around here is you," I muttered.

I thank the heavens that I wasn't heard as the short man speaks in as a jumpy a tone his bass voice can manage, "Muhh…uhh, p-please don't let Sir Schwann know about this, sir!"

"I can't believe our taxes go to paying these guys," Yuri said nonchalantly.

I just nodded, even though I'm not really a citizen in Zaphias. I was half tempted to say "Indeed,"-

Then I noticed Cumore raising an eyebrow. "Oh? Another lowlife," he stated – wait, did he just-? "Hmm, this _wretch_ should hardly be any challenge at all."

I just stared at him. Then I gave him a blank look. "Dude, do I _look_ like a lowlife to you?"

I was merely wearing a purple jacket over a purple t-shirt that's over a white shirt, a pair of jeans with a black belt, and my blue and hot pink sneakers. Add in my (really) thick framed glasses over my dark brown eyes and my brown hair in a ponytail, and you have what I looked like right now.

Though, I'm pretty sure Captain Prick didn't give a crap, merely letting out an uncaring grunt.

"Uh- Sir, this woman just fell on top of us!" I jumped again when I heard Boccos.

"I say, it was as if she fell from the sky!" I stared at Adecor when he said that. What? Did I hear that right?

"Oh please," Cumore said, "as if a person could fall out of the sky. But, regardless, she trespassed into the Royal Quarter; and if she's with Yuri Lowell, then she's in league with him."

"Hey, wait, I'm not-" I was cut off when one of Cumore's knights pointed their sword at me, and my eyes went over the metal gleaming in the sun. I was half-tempted to touch the sharp edge of the blade, to see if it was real…but I don't want to tempt it. So I just backed away a little; I don't want to be skewered, thank you!

My eyes just shifted over to where Repede is (that dog is like a ninja or something) and the canine ran off with the bag filled with the money from the Lower Quarter.

"…And there goes the back up," I muttered as I heard a sword clanking noisily after hitting the ground. I already knew that was Yuri…and he basically turned us _both_ in; understandable, since with the mansion behind us and the knights surrounding us, we're basically screwed.

"I say. That tops it all! Abandoned by his faithful pooch!" Adecor mocks.

And there goes Boccos laughing. And I was half tempted to kick the short man-

…Hey, he's about around my waist.

"-am rather busy myself but I suppose I can afford to play with you for a while," I had actually forgot that Cumore was there and the knights around us took a stop forward when the prick said, "Gentlemen!"

Oh fuck. Oh fuck. Oh fuck. And, oooooooh fuck!

I was too busy panicking to hear the exchange between Yuri and Cumore, looking over at the fully armored men as they all sheathed their swords and crunching their fists.

I gulped. "Y-You wouldn't hurt a lady, would you?"

I only received a grunt in reply.

…If I didn't know what Cumore is really like, then I would have been begging him to let me go – but after playing the game, I saw that people like him are heartless assholes. So I felt no sympathy for the man when he drowned in quicksand; cruel to say, but I felt that the man deserved the fate.

And…considering my situation that one of the knights pulled me into a full nelson, I honestly rather play Team Fortress 2 then getting the crap beat out of me by the asshole brigade-

I suddenly found my vision blurry as my head suddenly jerked to the side; but that was nothing compared to the pain I felt on my left cheek. My brain barely processed it before my head jerked to the left this time followed by a _painful_ sensation at my abdomen. My body fell to the ground and it instinctively curled in on itself, my arms over my abdomen as I felt nothing but pain on both my cheeks and my stomach-

I heard myself yelp as I felt something hit my side (I think I heard shouting) and something slams onto the side of my head.

And everything went dark.

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…**I think the beginning was crappy. I don't know. I'm not really good at first person views. I'll let you guys decide.**

**Erm…review?**


	2. Of Castles and Kuro

And here's the second chapter. Let's see what'll happen to me/Erica now.

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

_(Holy shit, six reviews?! Damn! I never expected people to like this; I love you guys!)_

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…ow…

That was the only thing I could thought when I came to; and not to mention that I felt sore all over. Dammit, what the hell just happened? My head hurts, my face hurts, my, uh… everything hurts. Did I take a stumble down the steps or something? Am I in a hospital bed?

…Wait, why was I curled up into a ball?

I opened my eyes – with some difficulty (what the hell?) – and everything was a bit blurry. But why is it blurry like this? All I could manage to see is a blurry mess of…greenish-grey? Aren't hospital walls supposed to be white or something? I…don't really remember; a lot of hospitals are different and the last hospital that I went to was sometime after a…accident with my brother. The memory of what happened that day is still fresh in my mind-

Wait up brain. Worry about what's going on with you right now.

Like…where the crap is my glasses?

It took some time for me to try to clear my vision…and from what I can see (or manage to; I'm near-sighted) the wall is made of…stone?

What?

I then noticed that the room I'm apparently in isn't too bright. …And I also noticed that I'm lying on something…hard. I had to push myself up (maybe a little) to try to see my surroundings better, then my head brushed against something. Blinking, I tried to crane my neck to see what it is (letting out a hiss when I felt my head throb) and saw…a chain?

It took me a moment of staring at the chain before the thought registered in my brain. My eyes went wide and it felt as if my stomach just dropped.

…A chain? A FUCKING CHAIN?!

But- what- how did-?

I suddenly remembered what happened earlier and I pushed myself to sit up-

Ow. Dammit! I thought as I wrapped my arm around my stomach. Dammit…right, those assholes from Cumore's brigade beat me up. Augh…I never felt that level of pain before. More painful than the 'frogs' I'd get from time to time from Dad; only because those assholes have _metal _gauntlets.

Geez, after that shit, I feel bad for Yuri for having the same treatment-

Wait.

As soon as the pain lowered to a dulled throb, I slowly straightened my back out and look around some more.

The cell that I'm in looked…different. Instead of a small room, it's rather…big. Big enough to fit two people – seeing, to my shock, THE Yuri Lowell (from the blobs of black and purple I could see) lying in the cot across from me – the 'bed' that I'm on is…well, uncomfortable. Not as soft as the bed that I'm accustomed to (I feel like a spoiled brat thinking that). At the corner there was a door. I'm not sure what's behind there, but I'm not going to tempt it; there might be something…unsightly behind there.

I finally looked to my right and found the bars. Well…shit, I have no idea how I'm going to get myself out of this. If I'm in here with Yuri, then…it's possible that I won't be able to get out until they release me after ten days. Geez…I feel useless right now.

With a sigh, I just lay back down onto my 'bed' and closed my eyes, curling my legs towards me. "Great, what am I going to do now…?" I mumbled, putting my arm under my head to cushion it.

"Hm, that's a good question."

I let out a yelp when I heard the voice, quickly sitting up- then groaned as I held the back of my head, feeling a new wave of pain blooming.

"Geez, you humans sure are jumpy."

"Huh…?" I let out as I forced my eyes open to see this guy-

Those eyes!

I opened my mouth but the guy covered it, shushing at me. "You don't want to wake him up, do you?" The guy asked, jabbing his thumb over at Yuri.

Oh…

After I nodded, the guy moved his hand from my mouth. Now that I've got a good look at this guy (besides being behind the static screen; in this rather pitiful light) I can see that the guy looked…around my age, short semi wavy colored black with a bit of it almost covering his right eye (both colored an amber gold). He wore a sort of sleeveless top, said top revealing some of his midriff (is that a six-pack I see?) with a…coat of sorts over the top (it's sleeveless as well, but the sleeves looked like they were ripped off or something). He also wore a pair of black pants, a couple of belts hanging a little to his sides and…why is he barefooted? I asked myself when I looked at his feet, where the ends of the coat are at.

After my mental examination of the guy (hey, he looked like he has the same build as Yuri; I think) I opened my mouth. "Who the hell are you?" I asked – with my voice lowered to not awake the dark haired male – and, clearly pissed off. "And why the fuck did you drag me through my TV screen?!"

The person just looked at me for a few moments, and then he placed his hand onto the top of my head-

"Ack…!" I let out when he made my head tilt to the left, then right, and I heard my neck pop a couple of times.

"You know…you really shouldn't use that tone of voice with me, _human_," the guy said-

Wait, what?

"You humans are so fragile," he continued, continuing to play with my head, "No matter how much you get smart, or build your muscle mass, you still break easily."

"Nnyaagh!" I let out as I tried to swat his hand off of my head-

Though he did so with an amused smirk on his face; I narrowed my eyes at him. That only made him chuckle. "You call that a glare? Please, I've seen scarier things than that."

…Not my fault that I'm a pacifist, I mentally grumbled as I pouted. Yeah, that's how mature I am.

It made the guy chuckle some more.

I took in a deep breath and let it out. Getting angry won't get me anywhere; when has that ever helped me? "Okay," I began, rolling my eyes. "Can you tell me who you are, and _why_ you dragged me through my TV screen, _please_?"

The guy let out a thoughtful grunt, tapping his chin a little – I noticed that he wore a fingerless glove on the hand tapping his chin. "Alright," the guy shrugged a little, "I'll indulge you. My name is Kuro," he said, poking me on my forehead – I nearly lost my balance when he did that – continuing with, "little human. And as for dragging you through your 'TV'-" he used air quotations when I regained my balance – "well, we were bored and wanted some entertainment."

"…What?" I said, staring at him.

"Like I said, we were bored," the guy – Kuro – parroted, "and, since it's been so long since the last time we've done this, we kinda have to search for more 'players'."

"…You mean to tell me that you've kidnapped me out of my home, dropped me off in a potentially dangerous world, all for your entertainment purposes?!" I snapped, standing up as I towered over the guy (he was squatting down to my level when I was sitting down). I clenched my hands, gritting my teeth.

How _dare_ this guy! Playing with people's lives like that! Like-Like we're their personal toys! That lousy, no good-!

…I don't like the smirk he just made and he…straightened up to stand- holy crap, he's taller than I am.

"How feisty," he said, "Yeah, I think I chose right." What? "With the right motivation, yes…" He trailed off as he rubbed his chin.

…No, seriously, what?

I would've backed up, but with the wooden bed behind me, I don't think I'll get far.

I yelped, falling back onto the 'bed' as he leaned over to me. "I'll tell you what," he said, poking me between the eyes, "Let's see if you can get through this 'game' alive." I was seriously hoping he was joking with that last part-

"If you can do that, then you'll be sent home, scot free," he added, "You can interact with the people of this world if you want. And besides, it should be easy, since you've 'beaten' the 'game'." If only it was _that_ easy; video games _just_ looks easy because we play on them safely behind the screen, sitting comfortably in our homes.

I opened my mouth to tell him that-

But he cut me off with: "But since you're starting out, you humans being all safe in your world, I'll help you. Just this once though."

"…You expect me to believe that you're my ally?" I asked him; this is just too good to be true.

"Hmm, good question," he just said.

I just stared at him.

He straightened up again. "Alright, as soon as you leave the cell, you'll find a couple of…'surprises' in a chest, waiting for you," he said and turned to the bars. "Oh, and by the way." He tossed something at me and I caught it between my chest. "One of those knights stomped on them, and I had a friend of mine to repair them. Be grateful." He walked towards the bars-

"Hey wait-!" I let out; standing up quickly- is he crazy, he needed a key to-

…I think my jaw dislocated itself when the guy just…walked _through_ the bars…like it was water. He looked over his shoulder, gave me a grin (I think) and walked out of sight.

I honestly have no idea how long I was standing there, gawking like an idiot at what I just see. "…Who the hell is he? Ryoko's cousin or something…?" I let out, remembering the abilities of the character from the Tenchi Muyo! series. I let out a sigh and I sat back down. I looked down at my hands and uncurled my fingers-

Hey, my glasses! I mentally exclaimed, staring down at the eyewear in my hands in surprise. When did I lose them-?

Oh, right. They probably fell off of me when one of those assholes punched me. …And didn't Kuro tell me that one of them stomped on them?

"…I'll kill that bastard…" I muttered as I put them on. Yay for better vision! When I looked over at Yuri, the guy is still out cold. How the hell can that be? I was pretty sure that we had gotten a bit loud back there…

I just let out another sigh, and lied onto my back, putting my hands over my stomach-

I blinked a little, and I put my hand into one of my jacket pockets and grabbed onto the thing before pulling it out. Hey, they left my iPod alone. They probably didn't bother to check my person; the police people back home would do that. Maybe the people here are old fashioned?

I jumped when I heard someone clearing their throat. "That's enough out of you," a man's voice said, "Almost meal time."

Quickly, I put my iPod back into my pocket and moved my head a little to see out from the bars to see one of the knights walking past the cell bar.

…Did I seriously miss Raven's conversation with that knight? I asked myself, blinking. How did…?

"Hey neighbor!" The old man's voice spoke up nonchalantly, "You're awake right? You gotta be getting' tired from keepin' so quiet."

…Was he talking to me, or to Yuri? Wait a minute; didn't Raven hear me talking to Kuro? And what about that knight that walked by a few seconds ago? What the fu-?

"You think that story up all by yourself, old man?" That was Yuri, shifting himself so that he was looking up at the ceiling, "You must have plenty of time on your hands."

"Old Man?" Raven repeated, "Now you've gone and hurt this old man's feelings. Besides, I didn't make up nothin'. I've got eyes and ears the world over digging up information for me."

"Heh, sure you do old man," the dark haired man sat up, drawling a little.

Earlier, I lied back down and rolled over to my side, facing the wall opposite of Yuri's. I really don't want to interfere with what they're going to say. I kept my ears open for the conversation that I could (sort of) remember from the game.

"Hey, I am what I am," Raven said, "Go ahead and ask me something. Wanna know about the pirate guild's sunken treasure? How 'bout the sorcerer who makes his home at the ends of the earth? Or wait, I've got it…" …Why am I getting a weird feeling that I was being looked at?

The feeling went away when Yuri said with a sigh, "I just want to know how to get out of here." That shuts the old guy up, and after a second replies:

"Well, I'm not sure what yer in for though they'll let ya out if ya keep yer trap shut for ten days."

_'I wonder if that includes me too…'_ I thought when Yuri said:

"The Lower Quarter will be underwater by then."

"The Lower Quarter…?" Raven pounders aloud. "Ah yeah, I heard about that."

"I wonder how they're all doing right now," the dark haired man sighed, and I heard him sitting up to stand.

"Sorry neighbor," Raven said, "That's one piece of dirt I don't have."

Yuri let out an annoyed grunt, and I heard him walking over to (what I assume) the cell door. "What am I going to do about that damn Mordio?" He asks himself out loud.

Then Raven let out a shocked, "THE Mordio?! You mean to say you've got connections to the famed mage from Aspio, the City of Scholars?!"

Nice job, Raven, I mentally said in sarcasm, you gave away a piece of dirt to Yuri.

"Do you know about him?" Came Yuri's intrigued question.

"Oho! You wanna know, huh?" I rolled my eyes when the old man chuckled. "I'm afraid that information won't come cheap."

"The 'famed mage from Aspio, the City of Scholars' right?" Yuri goes, and I think I heard a smirk in there when he said that, "I think I've got it."

I mentally chuckled in my head when Raven stuttered, "W-Wait, that's not it. He's the uh, the head of the gourmet guild! No wait, uh…I mean…uh!"

And cue the gate opening, signaling Alexei's approach. I silently stayed where I am when I heard him – and to my confusion, some more footsteps – heading towards Raven's cell and unlocked the door.

"Out," I shuddered when I heard his voice. Now that I'm actually hearing it with my own ears, his voice is…intimidating; almost monotonous…creepy.

"Ah well," Raven let out an overly exaggerated sigh, "just when things were getting' good…"

"Hurry up," the Commandant ordered impassively.

I heard the footsteps (followed by Raven's) going again, this time leaving-

"Whoa!" That was Raven, and he sounded closer than usual. That means that the old man is next to us. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but I'm guessing that Yuri is questioning the old man of why the Commandant is letting him out. The old man just replied '…beneath the statue of the goddess…' before he hands the dark clad man a key.

"What are you doing? I said hurry up," Alexei sounded impatient.

"Alright, easy," Raven told him, "I'm coming." I got the feeling of being looked at again before it was gone, hearing Raven leave along with the other knights.

As soon as the footsteps are gone, and the outer gates shut with a click, I heard Yuri say to himself, "I did say I was looking for a way out of here…"

Silence went by for a moment as I lied there. I blinked. Isn't Yuri going to leave now-?

"By the way, how long are you going to pretend sleeping?"

I jerked when I heard Yuri address me. Wait, he knew that I was awake? But, how did-?

I wanted to smack myself. This is Yuri Lowell; if he wants to be, he can be a ninja. A _perspective_ ninja; you can barely hide anything from him.

…And I'm getting a feeling that he isn't fooled by my silence, when he added, "Well, if you're going to continue lying there, I guess I'll be going." My heart skipped a beat when I heard him turn-

"…Ugh…" I let out as I sat up, looking over at him.

Now that I've looked at Yuri, face to face (almost…and trying to suppress my fan-girlness) he nearly looked exactly as his anime self. But…not like his game form, he isn't wearing a leather glove on his right hand; and he really did look like that he had just gotten into a fight.

I tried to ignore the bruises when I asked, "How did you know that I was awake?"

"I heard you making a noise when the old man first spoke up," he answered, putting his hand onto his hip. I did? I didn't notice…

"Huh, right…" I let out.

"Well, anyway, I'll be seeing you," Yuri said as he turned to the cell door again and worked with the lock.

"Hey-" I let out when the door opened with a click. The dark haired man pushed the door open and stepped out. "Hey, hey, hey! Hold a second there dude," I said as I stood up (wincing from the throb on my abdomen) and quickly made my way over to him.

"If you're trying to get me back into the cell, then I hate to break it to you, but I probably won't be gone long," Yuri said as he walked out into the hall and looked around.

I paused by the doorframe, and I blinked. He thinks I'm going to try to get him back in? I opened my mouth to say something, but he cuts in with:

"Well, ever vigilant as usual." He sounds sarcastic when he said that. "With the way he's fast asleep, he probably won't notice my little jailbreak." He looked like he was rubbing his chin in thought as he muttered softly to himself.

As he does so, I considered the between space I was in. Should I really follow Yuri and the others? I asked myself, looking around outside the prison cell. Or…do I stay here and finish off my sentence? I added, looking in the cell. Doing something like breaking out of jail is wrong…but I'm no longer in my world…

And…Yuri and the others don't really need me. All of them have an important role; me – I'm just an insignificant bystander. No real role here at all. Yet…should I really listen to Kuro? I can't really trust him first thing. I don't know why but…I'm getting a feeling that he's holding something back.

…Or it must be my writer's instinct telling me that? I don't really know.

I was taken out of my thoughts when I heard Yuri walking off.

At that moment, I made my choice.

Not sure if I'm going to regret it though.

"Uh- wait a sec!" I let out, walking away from the cell – and trying to ignore parts of me screaming that it's _wrong_ – as I tried to catch up to him. "I- I'm coming with you."

The man just stopped and looked over his shoulder. "You sure about that?" He asks, "You don't sound confident with that small announcement."

I frowned. "I'm not going to stay in there because of those assholes throwing me in there," I told him, crossing my arms. "I've got nothing to do with what happened earlier today. I just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Yeah, sure, was falling out of the sky part of that?" …Wait; he doesn't sound sarcastic right there.

"Wait, was that guy serious?" I purposely left out Adecor's name out – that'll only make me suspicious. "You know; the one with the big lips."

"I wouldn't really believe it as well if I wasn't there to see it," he just answered. "Not exactly what you see every day."

"Uh…" That was all I could manage.

Yuri just looked over me – as if he was giving me an evaluation – before he began to walk off. "Well, do what you want Four Eyes," he said, "I'm not responsible for what happens to you."

I jerked a little at the nickname. F-Four Eyes?! I let out a grunt, before I let out an aggravated sigh. "Fine," I said, quickly following him. Damn my squeaky sneakers…

I silently followed the (slightly; I think) taller man as we made our way through the prisoner hall, looking around. …It's a lot bigger than it looks; but I guess the proportions in the game would make things smaller…

If that's true, then how big is Terca Lumireis anyways? Or Zaphias for that matter?

Geez. It's going to take forever to get through this adventure.

_**~o~**_

"…The hell?" That was me, staring down at something in the chest Yuri just opened.

Despite the hallway bigger than its game counterpart (with more jail cells) some areas are still in the same spot, like the outer gate and the knight desk (which I took a moment to make faces at the sleeping knight before quickly following Yuri, mentally cackling); and oh, the chest containing Yuri's stuff.

…Only, it holds not only Yuri's sword (which was the Second Star sword instead of the Compact Sword Yuri had earlier in the game, to my confusion) and his bag filled with…stuff. It also held my purse (how the hell did that get in there?) and…

"What are these doing in here?" Yuri lets out after getting his things and pulling out my bag and a belt with hostlers…with pistols in them.

Twin pistols.

Seriously, what the hell? Why are those even in there? Are they the 'surprises' Kuro mentioned?

I stepped forward a bit. "Um…the purse is mine; the guns, I don't know."

Yuri gave me a look when I told him it was my purse, and looked back over at the purse. It's a Fossil; and a gift from Mom on Christmas!

"…really," he just let out, sounding not convinced. "I don't remember seeing you wearing it."

"Uh, well, I think it fell off when I fell," I said – I'm not going to bother lying to him, because 1) he'll know I'm lying and 2) he _did_ see me fall from the sky. And I think it really did fall off of me when I was wrestling Kuro off of me – rubbing the back of my head.

"…Right. Well, here," he said as he hands me my purse-

I let out a grunt when it felt…heavier than usual.

"What is it?"

"Huh?" I let out at Yuri's question, "Oh, nothing." I'll look into it later.

I looked back up when Yuri held up the belt. "Now, what to do with these…?"

I looked over at the belt, and the pistols. Are people in Terca Lumireis advanced enough to make guns-?

Oh wait, duh. Patty Fleur; she uses guns. And so did the Blood Alliance and Yeager.

"Well, it doesn't seem like that old man or those knights who took him retrieved them," I said, "Maybe I should take them."

"You sure?"

"Yeah," I nodded to Yuri's question as I grabbed the belt from him-

My arms faltered a little at the weight. Holy- It weighs like ten pound dumbbells!

…Yeah, my arm strength is pathetic. Whose isn't?

I ignored Yuri's stare as I put the belt onto me. It took me a moment to put the belt around me (since I have another belt on me) so I just let it hang a little loosely under my other one. I put on my purse and gave him a thumbs up. "'Kay, I'm ready to go!" I told him.

Yuri just rolled his eyes, grabbing his sword by the ribbons, and his bag before going up the stairs. I quickly followed him (seething quietly that the squeaks my shoes gave off will give us away in our 'stealth' mode). I had just got to behind him when he suddenly ran back to the wall and held his arm out to me, pressing his back against the wall.

Oh, right, the patrolling knights. I quickly followed his example and put my back against the wall along with him. After a few seconds, Yuri slowly began to move out of our hiding spot-

My eyes went wide and I yanked him back (well, as much as I could). I quickly shushed him and pointed at the other knight patrolling around our level. A good thing I remembered him, or our cover would've been blown. Yuri just nodded at me, and we pretty much played the waiting game, the two of us focusing on the knights patrolling on both levels. I looked down at my sneakers and made a move to take them off-

"Ah-CHOO!"

Fuck me, I can't believe my sneeze chose that time to, well, make me sneeze.

And THAT alerted the two guards.

"Who's there?!" The knight around our level had drawn his sword, just as the other above us came down with a spear.

Fuck.

"The prisoners!"

I am _so_ screwed. Solid Snake or any other spy guys must be palming their faces and shaking their heads in shame by now. I can feel it.

"Sorry," I managed to let out to Yuri when he dashes pass me with his katana drawn- oh damn, is he going to-?

"You!" Oh fuck, I mentally let out when the Spearman came down the stairs. Dammit, he knew that I'm defenseless and-!

…Aw, dammit.

I glanced down at the pistols and I pulled one of them (by my right) out and pointed it to him. "Stay back! I'm warning you!" I exclaimed at him, but on the inside I was panicking. Holy shit, I'm pointing a gun at a person- what if it has real bullets in it? What if-?

The knight didn't call on my bluff and still came at me, with intents to stab me with the pike of the halberd-

"AH!" I let out in panic and-

_BAM!_

I froze when I heard that sound and-

"Augh! Dammit!" The Spearmen clutched his wound – wait, shouldn't there be blood? - and said to the swords wielder (fighting with Yuri), "She has a blastia gun! Take her out first!"

…Did I hear that right?

"Right!" He used his shield to shove Yuri off and-

Oh shit.

I yelped as I ran away from the sword swipes. When I got to a certain distance, I fumbled as I tried to pull out the second pistol and held them out.

…Should I mention that I have no training in guns whatsoever?

I think they saw that and were about to charge me-

"HOLY-!" Until a blast of…blue energy shot by them, instantly knocking them out; and that was me just now.

I stared down at the K. knights with wide eyes. I let out a grunt when I heard Yuri sigh, looking towards him as he sheathes his sword. "Take a load off for a while," Yuri said to the downed knights as he walked over to them and, with a grunt, starts dragging the two of them by their legs to a corner. I could just stare at him in shock. How strong _is_ that guy? Those two are bulky! And covered in armor and-!

"What?" I was jerked out of my thoughts again when I heard Yuri said that; apparently, he seemed to notice that I was staring at him.

I looked at the knights, at Yuri, at the knights, Yuri…

"…How strong are you?" I finally asked, walking over to him.

He just gave me a weird look. "What? You think it's unusual for a guy like me to down these guys?"

"Uh…no, not really it's…well, they looked like they have armor, and-and looked bulky and…" I trailed off, still unable to understand what I had just witnessed.

The dark haired man raised a brow. "Well, I was pretty strong to begin with," he told me, "And this just amplifies my strength," he added, left his left wrist where the bodhi blastia is.

…Wait, so bodhi blastia gave them more strength? "…I didn't know they could do that…" I muttered to myself.

Aaand Yuri ignores me as he turned to the two knights. "My rap sheet is long enough as it is, but I guess I don't have much choice but to fight if they discover us," he says, looking over them.

"Yeah…" I nodded as I considered putting the guns away. On one hand, I need them out just in case we get attacked again like that; on the other, it's unnecessary.

…Maybe I should put them away, I thought as I do so. With my crappy luck, I'd probably just shoot them off on accident and alert the guards to us.

Mental note: check out my weapons, belt and purse when we're safe.

I nodded to myself before I followed Yuri…not before I finally took my shoes off. I answered to Yuri's unanswered question, "These will just give us away." I don't mind going around in my socks. The floors looked clean anyway…compared to the inside of my shoes; they're literally dirty.

Yuri just nodded and we continued our way.

_~x~_

_Skit: Strength of blastia_

_Erica: Man, I never knew blastia can do stuff like this. But I guess it DOES make sense, since Raven held up a piece of the ceiling over them after the battle in that shrine. Maybe that explains how Yuri can K.O. a person just by chucking rocks at them. Wait, does Judith use a blastia?_

_Yuri: *comes in* Hey, Four Eyes, I'm leaving you behind._

_Erica: Ah! Coming! Sorry! *hurries to catch up*_

_Yuri: …I wonder what's she's mumbling to herself about?_

_~x~_

"Seriously, though, you don't have to call me 'Four Eyes," I told him as we walked down the LONG hallway. "I have a name, you know."

"I figured," Yuri just says, "But it's easier to call you Four Eyes."

"What, because of my glasses?" I said, "It's not my fault that my eyesight is terrible, buddy."

"Oh really?" He drawls, "How bad are they?"

"I can barely see like a few meters far away from me," I answered, crossing my arms (with my sneakers in each hand), then faltered a little. "…Okay, maybe, I don't really know. I'm not good at measuring." And these glasses are _old_; I don't even remember how long I've had these.

And I was being honest with not good at measuring things. I'm pretty decent at math, but there are some things that I could go so far on.

Anyways, before I forget, here's a little update. Not much had happened after the fight with the knights (besides running into a few more - and no, they weren't caused by me. We just had really crappy timing) and we were pretty much wondering around the corridors of the castle. And I have to say, it's huge on the inside! They could've put up like, a map for people who would end up getting lost in here! It's crazy!

I really hope that Yuri knows his way around the castle; because I don't want to die getting lost in this place. That would be totally embarrassing…

"…You know – all of the halls and corridors looked the same," I have to let out, looking around in yet another corridor we walked into.

Yuri was about to reply-

Until we heard something clacking against the marble floor; they sounded like they were in a hurry. I barely let out an 'Oh, fuck-!' before we quickly ran behind the pillar we came out from. As Yuri pressed himself against the wall (leaving me with no room to see myself) the sound got louder as it got close. I moved my head to see what it was-

And a blur of pink and blue ran in and towards the hallway to the north, and stopped-

Holy shnikies. And dammit Mom, I'm sorry to say that, but now you've got that in my head.

"Why don't we just go back?" A deep voice suggested.

"I can't go back now!" Holy crap; that was Estelle I heard just now.

I gulped; oh man, I know where this is going.

"This is for your own good, Miss, you know that."

"And as for the incident, we assume full responsibility and will inform the lieutenant ourselves."

"How can you say that when you haven't done anything to help me?!" the girl exclaims. I managed to get a peek for myself, seeing the two knights exchange a glance with each other, and tried to take a step forward only to have Estelle point her sword at them. "Please, don't come any closer!"

"Miss, why don't you put that down before you hurt yourself?"

"I know how to use a sword!" Estelle declared.

Aw crap. The knights really are assholes if they're drawing their weapons on a girl like her, I thought as I slowly pulled out my pistols.

Which reminds me, what exactly does Estelle want to warn Flynn about? Is it because of the assassins after him? Or is it-?

"—I have to warn Flynn!" Shit! I missed that! I gripped my guns-

"ACK!" I let out, followed by three other grunts of pain as I fell to the ground. I pushed myself to sit up and glare at Yuri for shoving me away to throw a well-aimed Azure Edge.

I was tempted to flip him off, but shoved it down when I heard Estelle let out in a hopeful tone:

"Flynn…? You came to help me…?" I pushed myself to stand and followed Yuri out of the shadows.

…I have to feel bad for the girl when her expression fell upon seeing us. "Wh-Who are you?" She steps back cautiously as the knights now had their attention on us.

I looked at her. "Stay here," I told her and (still not sure of a stance I should take when dual wielding guns) spread my legs a little and my arms in front of me in an 'x' position as one of them exclaimed:

"Identify yourself!"

Yuri just ignores it and charges into battle. Hmm, two against two; three more experienced fighters and a not so experienced one. I don't like those odds.

I just do my usual tactic I've used this far: shoot at a knight, run away a little to avoid getting hit, and shoot again. I don't know any Strike Artes or Magic Artes (since I don't have a bodhi blastia; and I don't think these guns count as them) so it's pretty much all I could do right now. Either until I can find me one or if I'm given one; the odds of either of them happening are one to one million-

"WOAH!" I let out, barely dodging an Azure Edge. "Be careful man!"

"Kinda busy here!" Yuri retorted, parrying a sword slash from the knight he's fighting against.

Right, focus on the one in front of you, Erica! I mentally exclaimed to myself, kicking the knight away. After I backed up a bit, I fired again at the knight – thanking God that the 'bullets' are _not_ made out of, well, what bullets are made of. After a little barrage, a blast to a head knocked him out. I let out a sigh and looked back at Yuri to see how he's doing-

Only to see that the knight he's fighting with was already knocked out cold.

I made a bored look at him, which he seemed oblivious to. "Don't they teach these guys manners in knight school anymore?" He remarked in sarcasm.

"Well, apparently not if they're going to be jerks to young girls and-" I began to say before-

"Hyah!"

"ACK!" I let out when a beautiful porcelain vase lay on the floor, shattered into pieces-

-and I have a blade pointed directly at my neck.

"Hey! What, are you trying to kill me?"

"What the hell?!" Yuri goes in unison with my startled exclamation. Crap, I forgot about this part!

We stared in disbelief when she only blinks, slightly taken aback by our bewilderment.

I tried to ignore the vase that could've killed Yuri (it's possible if his head is hit on the right spot) and the sword, which warily lowers when she looks like she's going to respond. "Well…you two clearly don't belong in the castle, right?" She asks as she lowers her sword completely, glancing between Yuri and me.

"No, and I'll take it as a compliment that you can tell that by looking at me," Yuri commented as I looked over my attire. Yeah, I guess this outfit would be a _little_ unusual for the people of Terca Lumireis.

Estelle was about to answer when a low toned voice shouted:

"Yuri Lowell! Where are you?!" It made me jump at the sound of it – geez; Leblanc's voice can put a howler monkey to shame with that voice of his.

I ignored Estelle and Yuri's reaction as we all looked in the direction the voice apparently came from.

"You foul fugitive!" And that was Adecor. "I say, we know you're trying to make your escape! You and that sky woman!"

"…Sky woman…?" I repeated, raising my brow at what the big lipped knight called me.

"Oh please. Not them again," Yuri sighs, evidently exasperated. "I guess there's no point in going back to the prison cell now."

"Louder fools! Say it like you mean it!"

"Like hell I'm going back," I said as I put away the guns.

"Yuri Lowell? You're one of Flynn's friends, aren't you?" Estelle asked the dark haired man; seems they've ignored me.

Oooh. Maybe I shouldn't get myself involved in this conversation. As far as they know, I'm probably just a bystander who never heard of Flynn (soon to be captain, and later Commandant). My eyes caught onto the knights knocked out around the room. I shifted my eyes over to the two locked in a conversation, about Yuri knowing Flynn and stuff. I placed my shoes down and (as silently as I could) inch my way over to the knights.

I lightly patted down one of them to search for the things I'm looking for-

Oh! Jackpot!

I grinned as I found a pouch I notice the knights carrying. Digging through it, I found…are these gels? I asked myself, looking over the small red and yellow gummies sitting on the palm of my hand. I took one in my hand and squished it a little. Huh, reminds me of Fruit Gushers a little. I shifted my head side to side and put the gummies into my pocket. I hope they don't melt…

I heard Yuri admitting that he was once a knight. …You know, before I found out the plot of the game AND of the movie, the First Strike, the idea of the guy being a knight was hard to believe. But…after all of that, and seeing the movie myself, I can understand why Yuri would leave the knights. With assholes badmouthing the captain he had looked up to, the careless misuse of blastia and being unable to save two people (well, a dog and a man), I would probably leave the knights too. And that guy in the Royal Guard, the guy with that mole on his nose…if I ever meet him, I'm kicking his ass – for not only badmouthing Niren, but for also speaking ill of the dead; people who do that are the real scum of the earth.

I returned to looting the knights, stealing a couple more gels (hey, an Orange Gel!) and I found a few sacks (some are heavier than others; I feel like Robin Hood now!) putting them into my purse. What? I'll need all the money I can find – I can't mooch off of people. Especially the people of the Lower Quarter; they needed the money more than anything.

After I was done pilfering, I made my way back to the two-

I stopped mid-step. Crud, Yuri caught me in the act, giving me a bored look…and Estelle was staring at me with a shocked look. I chuckled nervously, grinning sheepishly and waved a little at them.

Silence.

"What?" I let out, "It's not like they're going to need them right now!"

"Over here!" Crap! Knight alert!

Yuri took the time to look over at the pinkette girl. "Listen, I want to hear the whole story," he says when we heard more voices coming and footsteps, "but we can't really afford to stand around and chat."

"I agree!" I piped up, trying to get my shoes on – stealth is pretty much moot at this point – and added: "I don't want to go back to prison right now!"

"Sure, right," Yuri said, glancing over his shoulder for a bit and then back at us again, "but first things first, let's get to Flynn's place. Want me to lead the way?"

"Ah, yes!" She answers uneasily to his suggestion.

"Eh," I let out, shrugging; that's my answer to Yuri who was waiting for my input. "I don't care."

With a shrug himself, the three of us set off to the blonde's room. Yay!

…Well, besides Zagi coming in and try to kill us, looking for Flynn…

Not going to be fun.

* * *

**Gotta end the chapter right there; the next chapter is where Zagi comes in. This won't be fun – for Erica/OC me anyways. I need to figure out the Artes she's going to do. Should she be a magic gunwoman, or just a gunwoman; who knows? It's hard to decide, really.**

**Leave a review, please!**


	3. Psycho Zagi Enters!

Zagi time. That's all I'm going to say.

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Tales of Vesperia or its awesome characters. Why do Japanese get all of the good shit?!**

* * *

"Yeah, it was somewhere around here…" Estelle let out, looking around for the door that leads to Flynn's room – which was right next to her.

After wondering around the halls (again) and avoiding the knights, we found ourselves around the upper floors of the castle. I already knew that Flynn won't be in there…but they don't.

And, apparently, Estelle probably didn't know where to find Flynn's room. Maybe she was unable to visit the blonde's room due to her, um, 'status'. This is just a guess, by the way.

While said girl was looking around, Yuri pointed towards the door next to the girl. "This is Flynn's room."

…And, it seems the girl didn't hear him, as she keeps looking around, before she spotted the door next to her. "Oh!" She let out in surprise.

I hear Yuri sigh next to me at her actions. Sheltered girl is sheltered.

I took this moment to walk up to the door. "Okay, let's see if he's in," I said, and I pounded on the door. "Oi! Anyone in there?"

Silence.

I felt Estelle gave me a look behind my head and she decided to try it this time, lightly raps her knuckles on the hard wood. "Flynn? Are you in there?"

Silence again. I let out a grunt. "No one's home."

"Oi…" Yuri let out, then walked up to the door and grabs the doorknob, opening the door with a _click_.

"W-Wait! We can't just barge in!" Estelle protested behind me.

"Well, he's not answering anyway," Yuri looked back at her, "Might as well go in." Such excellent reasoning, Yuri; and we went into the room.

…I have to say, for being a lieutenant, Flynn has a nice room.

The room is pretty spacious, if I do have to say so myself. Not only that, it's…surprisingly dark compared to the halls we left behind; somehow, there's this…warm feeling in the air that makes you relax. The only things in the room is a bed with a chest at the foot of it, a wardrobe, a desk with a mirror, a drawer…and another door at the side; that must be Flynn's bathroom. I also noticed a few frames hanging on the wall…and what seemed like a drawing of two faces: one with yellow hair and the other with purple. Aw, how cute.

All and all, no sign of Flynn.

"He's really keeping this place cleaned up…" Yuri spoke up when he walked into the room as I moved over to the chest sitting at the foot of the bed and sat down. "Flynn must be off gallivanting around somewhere."

I looked over at Estelle, seeing her slump. "Then…that means I'm too late," she said, dismay in her voice.

"Well, this sucks," I said, looking around the room. "If that's the case, then this Flynn guy could be anywhere."

"Well…" Estelle could only let out.

"So," I looked over at Yuri, who turned to Estelle, "what sort of wickedness did you do anyways?" He asks, placing a hand on his hip.

I looked back to Estelle, who had a confused look on her face. "Me? I hadn't done anything wrong."

"And yet a bunch of knights were chasing you around the castle," Yuri spoke up, looking to him as he looked over the girl with a suspicious look. "…Yeah, that makes sense."

I looked at Estelle and back at Yuri, and jabbed my thumb at her. "Well…she seems important, don't cha think?" I said, "I mean, for all we know, she's probably a princess or something."

I heard Estelle let out an indescribable sound when I said that last part, and we looked over at her in confusion. Oh, I think I may have unintentionally hit a bull's eye on her. I looked back over at Yuri, looked back at Estelle (seeing the girl fidgeting; poor thing…) and back at Yuri. I opened my mouth to speak-

"Yuri!" Her sudden shout made me yelp and I turned to her in surprise.

"Whoa…what is it?" Yuri asks, sounding startled by her sudden shout.

She put on a determined look, and said, "I can't be specific, but Flynn is in terrible danger! It's really important that I warn him!"

"Well, go if you want to go," Yuri told her, me looking at the guy as he was moving to take a seat on Flynn's bed. "What's wrong with that?"

"I wish I knew…" Was all Estelle could reply, sighing hopelessly.

Well, damn; if the councilmen are doing everything they can to make sure Estelle stays like this, she'll remain oblivious and naïve to the true cruelty of the world. Humans are the true monsters after all, if they were given power.

'_Then…is it all Estelle is to them?'_ I thought, remembering that Ragou say something about Dein Nomos and I think I remember that one part where Barbos attempted to create the replica version of the weapon. Ioder _did_ say that, whoever holds Dein Nomos will be declared the next ruler. Did Ragou commission Barbos to make that to force Estelle to take the throne?

…That's just sick, and _wrong_. The girl didn't look like she's capable of handling political stuff – and since Estelle is a candidate and the council is vouching for her, they most likely wanted to use her as a puppet…a figure head with no real power. Like Long Feng did in Avatar; that was how he and the Dai-li controlled Ba-Sing-Sa.

The thought made me clench my hand in anger. Fuck those old men; we're helping her out!

I stood up and turned to the two (while I was in my thoughts, Estelle had ran up to Yuri and begged him to help her escape), saying, "Maybe we should take her with us. I mean, all three of us wanted to get out of the castle, right?"

The two of them gave me a look, Yuri giving Estelle a look before he sighed. "…Okay, I can see you're serious, but…why don't you tell me your name first?"

Estelle didn't get the chance to when the window next to us suddenly shattered-

Wait, what?

I barely registered Estelle screaming, as all I could do is stare in shock at the dark figure leaping through the window.

"PREPARE TO FALL VICTUM TO MY BLADE!" Oh shit, Zagi-!

I screamed as I ran in the opposite direction (along with Estelle) as Zagi locked his daggers with Yuri's sword (that guy must have the reflexes of a mongoose). Once I'm in a safe distance, I looked back at Yuri and Zagi locked in a stalemate. And holy shit, Zagi is a lot scarier up close. His crimson gaze had a look that immediately sent chills down my spine-

"OH FUCK-!" That was me again when Yuri suddenly shoved Zagi off of him, making him skid near the two of us; the two of us running away when he got close.

"What the hell! Haven't you ever heard of knocking?" …Why must he joke at the time like this? I questioned in my head.

"Uh, I think this guy intends to kill our asses!" I exclaimed as Zagi straightens up in an odd … fashion that disturbs me. Greatly.

"I am Zagi…the man who will end your life," he said, shifting into a stance, "Now die, Flynn Scifo!"

When Zagi lunges at Yuri again, I quickly looked around. There is no way we can fight this guy in this room! Not only is it not really big to fit _fighting_ people…I also think that Flynn would be pissed off to see his room trashed. I spotted the door. I quickly opened it and shouted, "Yuri! Throw the guy out here!"

I don't know of Yuri acknowledge me, but he's now working to force Zagi out of the door using Azure Edges. Once Zagi is out of the room, the two men were able to fight. I had to use the door as a shield to protect me from the attacks the two are using on each other.

"You got the wrong guy!" Yuri shouted at him.

"Die!"

"You _really_ should listen a little more!"

"My name is Zagi. Remember it well, Flynn."

"_Listen,_ I'm _not_ Flynn!"

"Heh, aw, what's wrong?"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" I was wondering the same thing Yuri.

"I'm gonna kill you, and carve your name into my blood." …Uh…

"…Yeah, that's pretty disgusting." My thoughts exactly Yuri.

And Zagi is the exact definition of a homicidal maniac as I hear their blades singing (and making my ears ring). I briefly considered continuing to use the door as my shield-

"AH!" And now I'm running away from the door when Zagi came _too_ close for comfort, stabbing one of his knives into the door when Yuri dodged.

Once I'm at a safe distance, I heard Yuri ask, "You feel what? I'm not feeling anything over here."

Oh crap.

…And I don't think I've _ever_ felt more disturbed when Zagi let out a fit of maniacal laughter. "That's it! That's it! Now I feel _truly_ alive!"

I looked back in time to see Zagi coming at Yuri faster than I can see and swiped one of his knives at him. Yuri blocked it, but this time with effort.

"Yuri, let me help you!" Estelle exclaimed – I've completely forgotten about her – and she ran out of the room with her saber (where did she put it away?) and a shield.

"Wait!" I exclaimed as I held out my arm to stop her-

Giving Yuri enough time to shove Zagi off of him with a swipe of his sword; making the assassin jump back a few paces. I think I saw a couple of cuts on him, Yuri as well.

"But-!" Estelle was going to protest when Zagi let out _another_ maniac laugh.

"Bring it! The more the merrier!" He shouted.

I let out a frustrated sigh, and drew my pistols. "I-I'll help out too!" You can tell that I'm terrified out of my mind.

Yuri glanced back at us. "Listen, if things get too out of hand, I want you take her and run for it." I blinked. He wanted me to protect Estelle?

"Uh, y-yes sir!" I nodded along with Estelle's "I will!"

And so, my first major boss battle begins.

Zagi seems more intent on killing Yuri more than us. I didn't dare to try to shoot; I was terrified that I might hit Yuri on accident. So, all I did is shoot at Zagi a bit when it seemed he was getting close to us, and run away for a bit. But, dammit! I'm not really useful here in this fight, since Zagi is too fast for me.

…And yet, Estelle is, since she's the healer. Wah! No fair!

I wish I could use Artes; any Artes for that matter!

"_Geez you're hopeless."_

I jump at the sudden voice that came out of _nowhere_, which scared the crap out of me-

Wait a minute.

'…_Kuro?'_ I 'asked' tentatively as a test, ignoring the battle going around me.

"_Yes," _the guy stressed out. _"You do realize you can use an Arte, right?"_

'_Dude, I'm not a Child of the Full Moon like Estelle,'_ I told him, seeing Yuri throwing an Azure Edge at Zagi. _'I'm not going to be a powerful person, no thank you! No one likes all powerful people y'know-'_

I heard Kuro gave out an aggravated sigh. _'Just do an Arte,'_ he ordered, _'Trust me on this.'_

Ugh, fine, I mentally griped. Then I ran into another problem: how the hell do I _do_ an Arte? I racked my brain for it; do I gather energy for the Arte, like the Ki attacks in Dragon Ball Z? How in the hell does that work-?

"_JUST ACT!"_

"DAH!" …Was that me?

My body just glowed and…what's that shining on top of my head?

My body moved on its own, going into a crouch and I instinctively shouted:

"Twin Bullet!" I fired at Zagi six times just when Yuri shoved the psychotic man off of him.

I could only stare. Did…Did I just use an Arte?

When my brain finished processing the thought, it also processed Zagi focusing his attention…on me.

Fuck my life right now.

I could barely see Zagi rushing at me and I tried to raise my guns to shoot as I stood up-

What happened next, I'm still trying to figure out.

Either it was my crappy luck or something else, but…somehow, I lost my footing and I fell to the ground. Looking back, I'm glad that it did happen; if it didn't, then my blood would be all over where I would've died by then. Along with my limbs, and maybe my guts.

Followed by an Azure Edge from Yuri, nailing the man from Zagi's left. I pushed myself to stand, saying "Thank you…" as Yuri and Estelle got into a stance in front of me, the assassin having rolled to stand on his feet already.

"You've got the wrong guy," Yuri told him, "Aren't you supposed to know this stuff?"

"He's not Flynn!" Estelle exclaimed.

"Gah, details, details! Bring it!" Zagi roared, getting into a stance again.

"This guy's nuts," Yuri stated. "Flynn sure has made some interesting enemies."

"I think he's more on the borderline of being insane," I said.

Then along came some men from Leviathan's Claw. "Zagi!" One of them shouted, "Withdraw now. The knights are already of us. Save your fun for later."

I actually expected Zagi to attack them – he did so in the game – but, to my surprise, Zagi just glanced at them then straightened up with a "Tch." He turned around, but looked over his shoulder at us. "…Next time, I _will_ kill you," he promised, before one of the members of the guild threw something down-

"DAH!" I let out when black smoke covered the area. I coughed harshly (my lungs can't stand smoke; it never has), hearing Estelle and Yuri coughing as well- Ack! Stitch!

It took a few moments, but the smoke faded away. As soon as I got my breathing under control, I took off my glasses to dry my eyes. I put my glasses back on to hear Yuri say:

"Seems like those guys gave us the slip."

"Huh?" I let out as I looked back up to where Zagi and his accomplices are…

…or _were_, because they're nowhere in sight. I blinked. "Damn those guys are fast…"

"Are you okay?" I turned my head to Estelle, seeing her look over me with a worried look on her face.

I tried not to stare at her green eyes (the only other person I knew with green eyes is my old man) and shifted my eyes. "If you're talking about me falling over my feet or something, then yeah; I'm fine."

The pink haired girl put a hand over her chest, sighing in relief. "That's good," she said, "If you hadn't tripped…"

…Now I know the feeling of 'blood freezing' when Estelle trailed off. Oh god…I could've died back there… I shivered, holding myself – that was the most terrifying moment of my life; I really don't want to meet or fight Zagi again…

"Anyways," I jerked when I heard Yuri spoke up, "we better get a move on. If the knights were attracted by the sounds, they should be here soon."

Oh, right; we still need to get out of here to find Flynn and stuff. "Y-Yeah," I said, "I don't want to linger here any longer."

Yuri nods at my response, sheathing his sword before looking down the hallway. "…We'll just go pay a visit to the goddess and be on our way," he mumbles, half to himself.

"Yuri…I, um…" Both I and Yuri looked back at Estelle, seeing her fidget for a bit.

"Yeah I know," he told her, "We'll stick together until we're out of the castle." Then he tilts his head my way. "You too, I guess."

"Oh, yes," the girl replies, nodding. "But I was going to say…my name is Estellise."

…It's going to be weird calling her by her real name until Yuri gives the girl her nickname.

"-you?" I blinked and looked over at Yuri, who was looking at me.

"Huh?" I let out.

"I said, 'what about you?'" He repeated, "You told me you had a name earlier, but you didn't say anything, so…" He purposely trailed off.

Oh. Well, I feel smart (that was sarcastic, by the way). "Right, sorry," I said, putting my guns away. "I'm Erica. Erica Helms."

Yuri nodded again. "Well then, Estellise, Erica-" I held back a fan-girl squeal when he said my name "-Let's get moving."

"'Kay," I nodded then looked over the door. "One thing to do, though," I said as I walked over to the door. I gave it a light shove-

And the door fell over. Seriously, it fell over onto the ground. I stared down at the door, then gave a look to both Yuri and Estelle (who were staring at the door), and back at it. "Uh…I didn't do it," I said, backing away from it. "Let's split before the knights get here." I suggested.

"But we can't just leave the door like that," Estelle protested.

I joined Yuri in staring at her incredulously. "I _really_ don't think this is the time to worry about something like that," Yuri said.

"Because, seriously, we're escaping a castle here," I added.

She gives us a pleading look. "But…"

Ugh…those puppy eyes would kill me.

The thought went through my head before Yuri let out a sigh. "All right, all right," he said, caving in, "Just…Just give me a minute."

I palmed my face, running my hand down it before I shook my head. "Let me help," I said, walking over to where Yuri is, "I think we'll get it done faster. Just tell me what to do."

"Alright," Yuri just said.

_**~o~**_

"Woah…" was all I could let out, seeing all of the guards on the level below us running around in panic. I've seen people like that on T.V. but…seeing it with my own eyes is shocking. I've never seen anything so…chaotic before…

Huh, maybe I'm just as sheltered as Estelle – but, unlike her, I know that there are bad people out there outside of my little 'sanctuary' that is my home.

"I wonder if this is because of those guys from earlier," I hear Yuri comment, as we were all looking at the chaos below us. "They better not try to pin this on me, too."

"I think they're more worried about those guys than us, right now," I said, seeing a lot of knights wearing brown/green and…are those red down there?

"I hope no one was hurt…" That was Estelle, sounding worried about the whole thing.

Yeah, you've probably already noticed, but after me and Yuri fixed the door, we were on our way to find the exit of the castle. After wondering through the halls and corridors, most of us were surprised that the knights were nowhere to be found – because, weren't the knights supposed to be doing their job, like, guarding or something?

We soon found out the reason, seeing the knights running about in panic.

"Eh, don't worry about the Knights," Yuri said with an uncaring tone, "They'll make sure to protect themselves."

"…I seriously doubt that," I said, knowing that Yuri was being sarcastic. Not that I don't blame him or anything.

"YURI LOWELL!" That was Leblanc (and I could've sworn I saw a flash of orange among the knights down there) "Where are you hiding?!"

"…Seems like one group of knights is looking for us," I commented.

"That must be Leblanc," Yuri said, "I'd recognize those dulcet tones anywhere."

"Do the two of you know each other?" Estelle asked.

I looked over at Yuri for his answer. "We've had a bit of a history," Yuri answered. Then the dark haired man looked over to the other side of the balcony. "Come on, let's hurry."

"Right," I nodded and began to follow-

"Ah!"

I looked back to see Estelle falling to the ground. Oh…! She must have tripped on her dress. "You okay?" I asked as I helped her up.

"Y-Yes," she nodded, "I'm fine now."

"…We should do something about your clothes," Yuri said, getting our attention to him, "You'll stick out like a sore thumb."

"…You do bring a good point," I said, glancing over her dress. The dress just screams 'nobility'.

"My room is just up ahead," she says, "I have a change of clothes there."

"Okay, that'll work," Yuri just said, and I looked in time to see him walking away.

'_Quite a gentleman that guy is,'_ I thought sarcastically, rolling my eyes as me and Estelle followed him like sheep.

As we walked down the halls (again) I was reminded that it's nothing like the game anymore. We really don't have a lot of time on our hands, since the knights might rear their ugly heads any minute now. A bit earlier ago, we let Estelle led us to her room – she's the only one who knows where it is. We didn't talk, because there wasn't enough time to do so; that, and we had to keep our ears open for the knights.

It wasn't long until we found a white door with golden yellow designs on it. Thankfully, there aren't any knights wondering around the hall where the door is.

"This is my room," the pinkette told us. "I'll go and get changed, just give me a minute."

"Make sure you gather some necessary stuff," I told her, "It might be a long journey to find Flynn, and it's possible that you won't be back for a while. Take out you need, okay hun?" At her weird look, I hastily explained, "its short for 'honey'."

"Oh."

"Try to be quick about it, okay?" Yuri piped up.

She nodded and she went into her room.

…You know, I don't think a lot of us Vesperia players have ever seen her room. Now I'm pretty curious. I barely registered myself going over to Estelle's room-

-to see her peeking out of the door, holding the sword against the door frame; looking over me with a suspicious look in her eyes. "…Uh…"

"Just in case," she said.

"H-Hey!" I exclaimed, "I'm not going to do anything to you; honest!"

Estelle didn't seem convinced. I let out a sigh. "If I wanted to kill any of you guys, Yuri would've killed me first before I could get a chance to."

"That, and she doesn't seem capable doing something like that," I gave Yuri a bored look when he put in that part. He just did a small smirk and did a one arm shrug.

"Well…still, Flynn _did_ tell me to be careful if I ever met you, Yuri," Estelle told us before she disappeared back behind the door again; this time, there was a _click_ to indicate that she locked it.

After a second, Yuri sighs and leans against the doorframe. "Thanks, Flynn."

I looked over at the dark haired man. "You make it sound like that you wanted to peek on her."

"It's not like that," Yuri told me, "I was planning to guard her door. The knights could be coming any minute now."

"True," I nodded, walking to the other side of the door. After a moment of leaning against the wall, I looked over at Yuri. "Anyways, thanks for saving my ass back there."

"What do you mean?" Yuri asks, raising his brow.

"Using your attack on Zagi when I fell," I clarified, scratching my head. "I have to admit, I was pretty terrified when he came at me."

"I guess that's understandable," Yuri said, crossing his arms, "You seemed like a civilian. You could've stayed back at the jail cell and finished your sentence other than going with us."

"Going with you is my choice," I said, sliding down the wall so I can sit on the floor. "The situation I got in with the knights earlier wasn't my choice either..." I muttered to myself.

"Speaking of which, how come you fell from the sky?" I paused at the question.

What should I tell him? I can't really tell him I'm from Earth, or that his world (himself, everyone he knows and the people that'll become our allies included) is a fictional world for entertainment purposes. That's…too cruel, telling him that last part-

I jerked, remembering my thoughts about Kuro and his 'friends' about using players for their entertainment. Shit…that was- Dammit, what right do I have thinking things like that. I'm not righteous or anything like that; what made me think I was?

Dammit, I feel like a hypocrite now… I'm…no different from what Kuro and his 'friends' are doing to me right now. I'm…no better than him.

I let out a sigh. "I guess you can say…someone kidnapped me from my home and threw me there." It's not really the full truth, but it's also not a complete lie.

"Why would someone do that?" Yuri asks, "You don't seem like an important figure to kidnap. No offense."

"None taken," I said, shrugging, "I don't want to kidnap someone as worthless as me at any rate."

I felt his eyes on me. "What about your folks?" He asked, "Aren't they worried that their daughter is gone?"

I sighed. "…I don't think they realized I was gone…"

"Why? Do they ignore you?"

It's more complicated than that, I thought. "Actually, I kinda have things to do where I live," I said, "Both of my parents work, my sister basically does the same thing I'm doing and my brother…he doesn't come home often."

"How so?" I'm getting a feeling I'm being interrogated.

"I'd rather not talk about it," I replied. "All I can tell you is that my dad repairs some things, and my mom's a nurse. They're not home often, but I can understand that; we needed the money to get by." That part was true – my dad works during the day, five days a week while my mom works seven nights a week and is off for a week. I love my parents to bits, so I'm a bit upset that they would go far to keep us fed and all; like not eating all day and put up with the shit from other people.

"And your sister and brother?"

"…My sister is a year younger than I am," I answered, "and my brother is three years older than I am. My sister is a good artist, and I love her to bits, like my parents. As for my brother…"

Apparently, Yuri had noticed me trailing off. "What?"

I grunt, keeping my gaze down to the floor. "I don't want to talk about him."

"Sounds like you have issues with him." You have no idea how right you are, Yuri…

The door between us opened and we looked at the source, seeing Estelle in her trademark white/pink dress with yellow designs on it (looks flowery; how symbolic) with bag of sorts in her hand. She sets it (and her sword and shield) down and did a little twirl, as if showing off her dress.

We just stared at her.

"What?" She asks, looking between us in concern. "Do I look strange?"

I just push myself off of the ground to look at her. "Well…at least your dress isn't an eye sore like what the nobles outside wear," I said. And I was being serious about the nobles and their poor sense of style; makes me want to hurl.

I heard Yuri cover his snort as Estelle tilted her head a little at me. She wrung her hands and looked over at Yuri.

"Yuri! Your thoughts?"

The dark haired male blinked in surprise, looking over at Estelle. After a moment, he turns around, facing away from her (and me). "I was thinking, that doesn't suit you either."

"Really…?" Oh, the poor thing sounded hurt.

"But hey!" I quickly said, getting her to look at me, holding my hand up to wave it off. "You shouldn't let what we said get you down! The colors match, all things considered."

At least she perked up a little, nodding as she said, "Thank you."

She then walked up to Yuri, who turned around and she held out her hand. The dark clad man looked at her hand for a minute, then looks up at her. "What's this?"

"A handshake," she replies, "It means, 'nice to meet you'."

You know, I didn't get that part either when I first saw it. But…after thinking about it before today, I think I realized that, after nearly killing us, Estelle wanted to start over with us.

I choose not to say anything, watching Yuri staring at her for a moment, then looks back at her hand again and then places his hand in hers with a look of bemusement. After they shook hands, Estelle then offered her hand to me. I just nodded and shook it as well.

"All right," Yuri said, both me and Estelle looking at him as he looked down the hallway. "Let's get going."

"Thanks!" Estelle said.

"Da," I nodded.

…And Estelle and Yuri looked at me. I blinked. "What?"

"…What does that mean?" Estelle asked, tilting her head at me.

"What does what mean?" I asked.

"What you said just now," Yuri clarified, "You know, that 'Da' word."

"Oh," I said (if this was an anime, I would have sweat-dropped by now), "Um…it's a form of agreement in another language." Russians used it, like the Heavy Weapons Guy in Team Fortress 2.

"Really?" Estelle asked.

"Yep," I said.

"Okay, that's enough lessons right now," Yuri spoke up, turning back around, "We better get going."

"Da," I said again, before the three of us left.

_~x~_

_**Skit: On the Run**_

_Estellise: Yuri, you were a knight once, right?_

_Yuri: Didn't you already say you heard about me from Flynn?_

_Estellise: Well…It's just…You don't seem to know your way around the castle well… *gasp* Are you an imposter?_

_Yuri: …That's some imagination you've got. Why would I impersonate a regular guy from the Lower Quarter?_

_Erica: He has a point._

_Estellise: I…I guess you're right…_

_Erica: Speaking of which *moving to Yuri a little* what sort of work did you do as a knight?_

_Yuri: Well, at times, it's boring as hell. In this brigade I'm in, all I ever do is go out and patrol the city._

_Estellise: Ah, yes. So you were a part of the brigade stationed in Shizontonia?_

_Yuri: *didn't notice Erica's surprised look* Yeah. At times, it can be boring, but other times…_

_Estellise: *looks worried* Yuri…?_

_Erica: So! We better hurry up and get the hell out of here before the Knights catch us! _

_Yuri: Yeah, we better go._

_Estellise: Oh, right!_

_Erica: *mutters as Yuri and Estellise leaves* …Poor guy, I don't really blame him for not liking the Knights, and quitting. Flynn, you've got one hell of a work cut out for you once you became Commandant._

_~x~_

_**Skit: Extra Baggage**_

_Yuri: I just wanted to check on the Lower Quarter and come back. I didn't expect the extra baggage._

_Estellise: Baggage? I could take it to the castle's lost and found for you._

_Erica: *mutters* They have a lost and found?_

_Yuri: You're the one person I couldn't really ask to take care of it._

_Estellise: Huh?_

_Yuri: Never mind. I'm good._

_Estellise: Okay. Let me know if you change your mind. *leaves*_

_Erica: *made a bored look at Yuri*_

_Yuri: What?_

_Erica: That was mean, you know. Calling the two of us 'extra baggage'_

_Yuri: Hey, she didn't know I was referring to you two. She actually thinks I have baggage._

_Erica: Yeah, I guess she's a bit naïve. But, we're not really holding you back, are we?_

_Yuri: At least she has some Healing Artes. You don't have any experience fighting._

_Erica: *grunts* It's not my fault that I'm a pacifist! Fighting never solves anything you jerk! *leaves*_

_Yuri: …Are all women that moody? Or is it just her?_

_~x~_

_**Skit: The Intruder, Zagi**_

_Estellise: Are there many people outside of the castle like that man Zagi we met earlier?_

_Yuri: Nah, he's one of a kind. It's pretty hard to find anyone that nuts._

_Estellise: I see. Well that's a relief; I don't know what I'd do if everyone behaved like that…_

_Yuri: Yeah. Life would be pretty rough if the world were full of guys like him._

_Erica: *hack* *cough* Ugh…!_

_Estellise and Yuri: *looks at Erica weirdly*_

_Erica: Sorry! I think something went into my throat; I'll be better soon. *begins to walk away*_

_Estellise: Um, sure, I guess._

_Erica: *away from Estellise and Yuri then mutters* You guys are lucky indeed to have only that guy around. There are crap load of people like that over in my world…_

_~x~_

_**Skit: Weird Languages Part 1**_

_Estellise: I never knew there are other languages out there._

_Erica: Yup, you'll be pretty surprised by what you can find or hear out there. At times, you can learn something new, every day._

_Estellise: Do you know any other languages?_

_Erica: Well…only those I wanted to learn._

_Estellise: Such as?_

_Erica: Hmm… Konnichiwa! Watashiwa Herms Elica, desu!_

_Estellise: …Huh?_

_Erica: It means, 'Hello! My name is Erica Helms!'_

_Estellise: Oh! What other words do you know?_

_Yuri: *comes in* What are you guys doing…?_

_Erica: Having a little lesson, Yuri-kun._

_Yuri: Yuri-kun…?_

_Erica: It's what most girls call boys in another language, ending their names with 'kun'. Such as, ending the names of girls with 'chan'. Hence, Estellise-chan!_

_Estellise: Ah! I see._

_Yuri: …I don't know if that's useful if you ask me._

_Erica: *bored look* Sure, spoil all the fun, baka. *leaves*_

_Estellise: …What does that mean?_

_Yuri: I'm getting a feeling she said something bad about me._

_~x~_

"Wow…" I breathed out when I saw the statue.

After all of the running around, hiding from the knights for who knows how long (it's hard to see what time it is, since there aren't any clocks around here) wondering through seemingly endless hallways and corridors, we came across another corridor. It looked the same as the others, but what makes it different is a statue of a woman with wings sitting in the center. I'm not sure what the statue is made of – it looked like it was made out of either glass or crystal or…something; quartz, perhaps? – but the statue is incredible! Whoever made this must have god-like hands or something!

I wanted to run my hand over it, to feel it, but we have more important matters to deal with; to my disappointment.

"This must be it," Yuri said as we walked up to the statue.

"Is there something special about this statue?" Estelle asked, curious.

"Supposedly, there's something secret about this statue the Old Man told me about," Yuri explained as he walked around the statue to examine it. "He said 'beneath the statue of the goddess'."

"So…you believe that there's something under this thing?" I piped up (even though I knew that it's our ticket out of here; discreetly).

"Maybe," Yuri shrugged, "I just hope the Old Man didn't give me false information."

"It doesn't look like there's anything special about it…" Estelle said, looking over it.

"Maybe if we moved it, there might be a hidden passage or something," Yuri states, waving a hand in the air.

"Well…might as well," I said as I took my jacket off (wrapping the sleeves around my waist) and pulled the sleeves of my white shirt back. "We've already came this far."

"You don't think…"

"One way to find out," Yuri replied to Estelle's trailed off question before he and I walked over to the statue.

I looked over the statue. So…we're supposed to pull it back, right? …How exactly does that work? There aren't any handles or something…maybe we need to grab it by the rims? I nodded to myself and gripped it as tight as I could. Then I pulled it back.

…Well, tried to. It didn't budge! I grunted every time I tugged on it, trying to use my feet to help. I stopped my attempt and panted a bit before I ran to the front of it and pushed on it. Still didn't budge!

I then settled for using my back to help me push it. After a few moments, I slumped to the ground and I panted. I opened my eyes-

-to see Estelle and (of all people) Yuri, watching me; the former blinking while the latter had a bemused look on his face at my pathetic attempt to move the statue. I narrowed my eyes mostly at Yuri. "What?"

He just shook his head. "Man you suck," he said as he moved over to the statue.

I just grunted as I made my way over to Estelle. I wasn't sure if he was commenting at my sad attempt to move the statue or at my glare; or maybe both.

With my arms crossed and with a frumpy frown, the two of us watched Yuri as the dark haired male looked over the statue himself. He then went behind it and-

My eyes went wide when he steadily pulled the statue back…with just one hand. _One_. Hand.

I ignored Estelle's amazed exclamation as I crossed my arms and glared at the corner of the room. "No fair…" I muttered.

"Well, what do we have here?" I turned to Yuri when he spoke up, looking over…a trap door? Well, that explains how that statue stayed up here. "Looks like the old man was right…"

Me and Estelle walked over to Yuri, me looking down at the trap door as Estelle asked, "Do you think this will lead outside?"

"I can't guarantee it," Yuri answered, walking next to me and grabbed the iron ring. With a quick tug, it pulled open, revealing the metal ladder…and the dark abyss below. "Well, I'm going down," Yuri's voice got me to look at him, the dark haired male looking over at Estelle, "what about you?"

I looked over at Estelle, seeing the girl making a hesitant look as she looked down at the hole. After a moment, she put on a determined look before facing Yuri. "…I'm coming too."

I looked back at Yuri to see him nodding. "That's pretty brave of you," he said, putting his hand onto his hip. He then looked over at me. "What about you? Are you coming or staying?"

I looked back at the two openings in the corridor. Any moment now, the knights will catch up to us; it'll ruin our day if we're caught. Looking back at him, I pushed my glasses up at the middle. "Well, I came this far," I told him, "So I'm not really eager to go back to jail anytime soon." I stretched my arms over my head as I talked and put my hands behind my head-

Huh?

I blinked when my hands brushed against something where my hair-bow should've been. Yuri didn't notice my expression as he turned away, but I was a bit preoccupied by what's in my hair.

I'm not really much of a fashionista like most girls, but I have a feminine side of me locked away somewhere. So it's natural for me to see what's in my hair. I didn't get to see what it was when I suddenly heard Estelle let out an astonished yell.

I looked up in time to see Estelle pulling her hand back from Yuri, moving away a bit from him while holding her hand to her chest protectively.

He looked embarrassed. "Hey, I'm sorry," he said, waving his hands to calm her, "I'd…never seen a blastia like that. I-I wasn't thinking."

Crap, I missed that, didn't I? Looks like Yuri figured out that Estelle can use Artes without a bodhi blastia.

Estelle gave him an apprehensive look. "…That's really all it was?"

He nodded. "That's really all it was." He looked over his hand then held it up to show it. "My hand feels better. So…thanks."

Estelle blushes. "…No," she said modestly, "It's the least I could do."

Yuri then nodded. "Let's get going you two."

"Right."

"Sure thing." We both nodded before Yuri went down the ladder first. I go down next, then I suppose Estelle did too after a moment.

…I have a feeling the trip to the sewers won't be fun.

* * *

**BAH! DONE! …I need to work on 'Angels of Stars' some more. To the people who read that story, it's almost done. Just give me time, please!**

**Other than that, please leave a review my lovely fans!**


	4. The Knights Are Coming!

Going through the sewers and running from the knights. THEN the adventure truly begins!

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Tales of Vesperia, folks.**

* * *

"Oh God-!" I gagged when the impact of the stench hit me. Thank the gods that I'm standing on the ground, otherwise, I would've let go of the ladder and fell to my death…if the smell didn't kill me first. Ugh, my first time in a sewer, and I'm not liking it already.

"Damn…" That was Yuri, his voice muffled because he had a hand over his mouth. "Never knew that noble crap smells so bad…!"

"Don't say it like that!" I yelled, but my voice is also muffled since I covered both my mouth and nose with my hand. I was attempting not to breath, but I knew that plan was destined to fail.

"I had no idea a place this…_foul_…existed right below the castle," that was Estelle, trying to block out the smell as well.

I gazed around, trying to find a silver lining in our current situation. "Well…at least the knights won't think to look down here…"

"…True," Yuri muttered besides me, "But the next time I see that old man, I'm kicking his ass."

I was about to say something to that…but then I noticed something moving in front of us. The good thing about this place is that it has a bit of light down here, we're pretty much able to see down here; otherwise, we would be wondering around down here for a while…while accidentally get our feet (or ourselves) covered in nobility waste.

Basically, I'm getting my first glimpse of the monsters…to be honest, I was half expecting the Ratwiggles to be bit more…fierce.

They actually look kinda cute…but looks can be deceiving.

I looked over at Yuri when I heard him drawing his sword, but didn't chuck it away like he usually does in the game…I'll have to ask him how he finds the sheath after battles, later. "So there are monsters down here too…"

Surprise! I mentally said in sarcasm.

"…Monsters…" I heard Estelle let out besides me, "That's what these things are?"

"Well…I gotta admit, it's cute looking, but…" I spoke up, putting the second knuckle of my pointer finger to my mouth as I trailed off.

Yuri looked back at us with an incredulous looks. "You mean you guys have never seen one before?"

As Estelle stutters next to me, I was tempted to ask him if he's talking about 'human' monsters or actually monsters…until the thing _hissed_. I jumped back with a startled yelp, having my hands out as if a couple of karate chops could take it down, in a defensive position (while ignoring Estelle and Yuri giving me funny looks). As the critter, um…scoots towards us, Yuri had gotten into a stance.

"Well, let's hurry up and take care of this, shall we?" He said, staring down at the little rat-thing in front of us.

Then I heard Estelle gasping, looking over at her to see her pointing at our right. "Yuri, they're coming from the front, too!"

True to what the pinkette said, seven more of the Ratwiggles 'wiggled' their way towards us. Okay, I know these things are monsters and all…but they looked like animals. Parts of me is screaming that it's _so __**wrong**_ and-!

"AH!" I screamed when I was jerked to the side, a Ratwiggle jumping where my face would've been.

"Be careful next time," Yuri told me (my head registering the dark haired man being the one saving me), "I won't be there to save you forever."

"Uh- right!" I said as I pulled out my guns. Ugh, this is going to leave a bad taste in my mouth…

Again, I did a hit and run tactic, shoot at the Ratwiggles away from me, and doing my best to defend Estelle from said rat-like monsters.

Now, you may have been wondering why I didn't use any Artes, right? Well, here's your answer:

I don't know _how_ to do those. Doing that Arte, Twin Bullet, was the first time I ever do one. So…I need to figure out how to use them. Maybe I could ask either Yuri or Estelle on how to use it…but that'll just make me look suspicious. Plus, I'm not even sure _how_ I've done that in the first place, or what that light was.

After a while, the three of us had managed to defeat the Ratwiggles. Erm, not bad if I do say so myself…or something; I dunno.

Once the Ratwiggles trying to attack us are dead, I took the time to feel what was in my hair, since I didn't get the chance to do so earlier. When Estelle and Yuri were distracted, the dark haired male probably explaining to Estelle about the possibilities of monsters attacking in groups, I put away my guns, grabbed hold of the thing where my hair-bow should've been (huh, I can barely put my hand around it) and pulled it up.

With my hair down, some people can see it in all of its natural curly glory, reaching to the middle of my back (I think)…but it's frizzy as hell. My mom and sister always nag at me to take better care of my hair, but, to be honest, I just don't care. To me, hair is just hair; why exactly girls always fuss about their hair will remain a mystery to me.

Anyways, with my hair down, I looked over at the thing that replaced my hair-bow-

I blinked. "The hell…?" I breathed out.

The thick band is colored yellow, and had pretty interesting designs on it, most of the lines are curved (and are those small chibi angel wings on them?) and a diamond shaped red gem on it. I turned the thing over in my hands, getting a full look over it. My fingers fumbled with it for a bit, then the part around the gem was lifted off. Eyes wide, I pulled the band back a bit, seeing that it was similar to Yuri's bodhi blastia in the movie, the First Strike.

But…what I want to know is what happened to the red hair-bow I had earlier? There's no way in hell that it could've fallen out when the knights beat me up; if they had yanked on my hair, I would've felt that, would I? So how did-?

I suddenly notice something pink next to me and I looked at it. It was Estelle, looking over me with her eyes…a bit wider than usual. I blinked, feeling a bit weirded out by it. "…What?" I asked tentatively.

"Your hair…" she said, and (getting a bit freaked out now) she ran her fingers through my hair! "It's so… curly! I've never seen anyone else with hair like this."

"H-Hey!" I grabbed her wrists and jumped back a bit (and why are my cheeks getting hot?), running my fingers through my hair to detangle it. "Don't do that!"

The girl looked startled by my reaction. "W-Why not?"

"I-well-uh…" I stuttered (am I embarrassed?). How in the hell do I explain this? I basically have no issues with people touching my hair…as long as I know where said hands have been. Most of the time, it's pretty creepy when other people touch my hair…but…

"Sorry…" I said, scratching the back of my (already) frizzy hair. "I'm not used to people touching my hair."

"Oh," Estelle let out, her dainty hand nearly covering her mouth, "No, I'm the one who should apologize. I touched your hair without permission, and-"

I sighed, waving my hand to stop her. "Don't worry about it," I said to the princess, "You just caught me off guard, is all."

When I opened my eyes, I saw the pinkette looking at me with her head tilted a little. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah," I nodded at the girl.

"…You know," I looked over at Estelle, who was giving me a smile, "your hair is prettier when it's down."

Okay, my face feels like it is on fire right now when I let out an indescribable noise. I tried to find the words to retort to Estelle's compliment…but I couldn't find any. I quickly bent over, gathering my hair in my fingers and clasped the…band around my hair like a hair-bow. I straightened out my back, making sure the band is snug where it is…now I'm wondering how in the hell it managed to hold my hair up like that.

"Let's just get out of here," I said, putting my jacket back on from its place around my waist, and adjusting my purse.

…I thought I heard someone muttering about 'girls' and 'hair', but I figured it was my imagination. Once I was ready, I turned to Yuri (who had his brow raised the whole time. Was he watching our exchange or something?). "So…where should we go next?"

At that, Yuri merely looked at the walkway (with me and Estelle looking as well) and, seeing further down, it splits off into different directions, all leading to further areas. I briefly saw him shrug a little, answering, "Whichever. Let's just get out of here."

"…Fess," I muttered, and we began our trek in the sewers.

At least I kinda got used to the horrible smell.

_~x~_

_**Skit: Flynn – Part 1**_

_Yuri: Have you and Flynn known each other a long time?_

_Estellise: Umm…Two, maybe three years…? Something like that…_

_Yuri: Huh… So he's been getting along all right in the castle?_

_Erica: You sounded as if you were worried about him._

_Yuri: What, me? Nah, he can take care of himself just fine._

_Estellise: *nods* Mm-hm. Flynn is a very hard-working and honest knight. It seems like everyone trusts him. The other day, he told me that they've been giving him more responsibility lately, too._

_Yuri: Hard-working and honest. Right; in other words, hard-headed and obsessive._

_Estellise: Hmm?_

_Erica: In other words – and from what I can see so far on you, Yuri – a complete opposite of you, right?_

_Yuri: Eh, maybe._

_Erica: … (thinking) _'You know more about the cruelty of the world better than Flynn, that's for sure…'

_~x~_

_**Skit: Be Thankful to Strangers**_

_Estellise: I really need to thank whoever told you about this underground passage._

_Yuri: Why would you need to be thankful for something like that?_

_Estellise: I'm trying to get out of the castle, same as you._

_Yuri: That's all well and good…but there's no need to be thankful because of it._

_Estellise: Oh no. We must show courtesy to those who show us kindness._

_Erica: Yup. You may never know who might become your ally along the way._

_Yuri: Sort of weird to be polite to someone you've never met, don't you think?_

_Erica: *thoughtful look* I guess that depends on who's being polite to you and all…_

_Estellise: Manners are never so important as when dealing with those whom we have yet to be acquainted._

_Yuri: You really think so, huh?_

_Estellise: I know so._

_Erica: …On the other hand, what if the stranger who helped us out decided to shit on us when we meet up with him?_

_Estellise: Huh?_

_Erica: *sighs* What I mean is, what if the guy who told Yuri about the passage way may end up doing something we won't forgive him for?_

_Yuri: …You know she has a point._

_Estellise: But…!_

_Erica: Of course, I was being hypothetical. Also, it's okay to be impolite to people you're most comfortable with._

_Estellise: Th-That isn't right either!_

_Erica: (thinking) _'Sorry to say, but get used to it hun.'

_~x~_

_**Skit: Women and Their Hair**_

_Estellise: Erica, may I ask you something?_

_Erica: Sure, fire away._

_Estellise: What? But why would I fire at you?_

_Erica: *sighs* It means go ahead._

_Estellise: Oh. Well, um, I was just wondering…your hair feels…different compared to some others, like mine._

_Erica: *curious* Really? Your hair thin or something?_

_Estellise: Yes._

_Erica: Huh. Well, that's because my hair is thick. REALLY thick. I inherited it from my old man._

_Yuri: *comes in* What, your dad?_

_Erica: Yup. _

_Estellise: But…why put it up like that? It looks nice when it's down._

_Erica: Hey, my hair is my hair. I can do whatever I want with it. And besides, my hair always gets caught in a lot of things. That's why I put it up in a pony-tail._

_Yuri: Do a lot of women have issues with their hair?_

_Erica: I guess. I don't really understand it either._

_Yuri: *looks at Erica weirdly* …You're not much of a lady, are you?_

_Erica: You can blame my brother and his friends for that._

_Yuri and Estellise: Huh?_

_~x~_

"Urgh…! C'mon…box…move!" I grunted as I tried to move the crate before me.

Yeah, as you may have guessed, after our encounter with the Ratwiggles, the three of us had been wondering down here for a while…and the smell had gotten _worse_ (how is that even possible?!) the further we go in. Ugh…it smells worse than diarrhea; from either my dog or cats, I don't know what's worse! I won't be surprised if nobles chuck dead bodies down here to hide the fact that they've murdered someone (when they felt threatened by said person or just don't like them overall); there are people who might do that.

We also ran into _more_ Ratwiggles (annoying little rodents), but nothing a few sword swipes and gun shots wouldn't handle. Unlike the game, though, there aren't any random chests down here (or in the castle as a matter of fact) to my confusion…but, to be realistic, _why_ would someone put chests in random places?

Anyways, we then came across another problem; mainly, these crates. When I managed to peer into them, they were filled with metal and some junk. Huh, maybe someone was planning on making better bridges (compared to the shoddy wooden ones back there) down here to make it easier for people to cross…but who in their right mind would want to come down here.

I have newfound respect for Mike Rowe now; the dude can handle the most _disgusting_ jobs in his show, 'Dirty Jobs'.

And…since they're taller than I am, and about twice as heavy, we weren't able to just walk around them, or even see over them (despite my suggestion of having someone peeking over the crate with the aid of someone else) so…our only option is to split up and push them around to see where they lead. Thank the gods that the pathway is large, otherwise…well, no one would be happy being covered in sewage (and God knows where the water has been).

I managed to push one of them (even with my poor arm strength), by digging my heels onto the ground this time. I slide down onto the ground, panting and wiping my forehead. I looked around my area…to see that I have three more to push. I groaned out loud and pushed myself to stand; I've barely gone _anywhere_! I have no idea how Yuri and Estelle are progressing. I don't want to ask them to help me (not out of pride), I just don't want to be a burden to them. Plus…well, at times, I just don't think things through.

I was currently pushing my third crate (feeling my arms and legs throbbing a little due to using the muscles in them), when I got an unexpected call.

"_Man, he wasn't kidding when he said you suck."_

I groaned. _'Not now Kuro, I'm kinda busy right now,'_ I told him, straightening up and looking around. Aha! One crate to go! I tiredly went over to it to try to move it.

"_You know, you do realize you could've used your blastia," _I froze when Kuro said that. Wait, what?

'_Blastia? What are you talking about?'_ I asked- then it took me a second to know what he was talking about. _'Hang on, the thing that replaced my hair-bow?'_

"_Took you long enough," _Kuro sighed, _"Geez you're slow."_

I sniffed a little. _'It's not my fault I have flaws,'_ I said, _'And besides, even if I have a bodhi blastia, I don't know how to use it.'_

Silence. Then:

"_You don't?" _Came Kuro's incredulous question.

'_Yeah,'_ I said in a 'no, duh' tone, _'You can't expect people to get it right away, you know. That's not how life works, you know.'_ Speaking of which, how _did_ Yuri figure out how to use his bodhi blastia in the movie?

"_Fine,"_ came Kuro's irritated voice, _"Now listen, the bodhi blastia is designed to connect to your brain."_ I blinked. It can do that? _"The bodhi blastia is basically programmed to record anything you've learned, change it into a formula and implants the information in your head. Now, try to rack your brain for the new information stored in there."_

I'm…not sure where this is going, but I decided to take his word for it. I closed my eyes, and searched my head for…something. I'm not sure what it is, though, but, I gotta try, right? But, how do I know if I-?

_Twin Bullet._

My eyes snapped open and I nearly fell to the ground in shock when those two words appeared in my head. For some reason, my voice didn't work when I tried to scream-

"_I casted Silence on you,"_ Kuro said to me, and I held my throat in shock, _"don't want you to get the ex-Knight and princess on you, right."_

'_Uh…yeah, I guess,'_ I said, rubbing my throat. But…Silence? Isn't that a spell or status infliction from Final Fantasy or something?

"_So, I guess from your reaction that you've found the Arte you just 'learned' didn't you?"_

'_Uh, yeah, but how did-?'_

"_Good. Now, listen carefully, because I'm going to tell you once, understand?"_ I nodded. _"Once you've learned the move, it's permanently stored in your head even when you take the blastia off. Said thing uses aer to use Artes, as I'm sure you remember."_

Oh yeah, they kinda do. And the gems kinda glow when they're being used in the movie-

Wait. Is _that_ how Yuri figured out Estelle can use Artes without blastia? Maybe…Estelle had recently got hers and didn't know how it functions yet. That's a theory I came up with.

"_Hello?"_ I jumped when I heard Kuro's voice again, _"Are you back from la-la land, now?"_ I just nodded. _"Alright then, to make long story short, to use the blastia, use your head to use its power; especially Artes. You'll be able to learn more along the way; either on your own or from other people."_

'_So…I just think it?'_ I summarize.

"_Yes,"_ he sounded annoyed.

'_Right, I'll keep that in mind Blackie,' _I said in an annoyed tone, calling him by what 'Kuro' means in Japanese.

I heard him growl in my head (weird) and, just like that, he was gone. I sighed. I thought he would never leave; I don't know why, but that guy annoys me. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that he got me in Terca Lumireis.

I looked back at the last crate before me. If I remember right, this path should be the one to get us out of here. I nodded to myself, and put my hands against the crate. Thinking about Kuro's words, I decided to test to see if he was right.

I stared at the crate before me…and began to push. I noticed a red light over my head, and – to my amazement – the crate moves easier now! I grinned at my success and continued to push it. After a bit, I looked back behind me. Mission successful! A clear path!

I looked down said path. Yay! The ladder!

I giggled madly as I hopped in place, clapping my hands (yes, it's childish; and no, I don't care) in excitement. Cue the obtain item jingle from the Legend of Zelda: the Ocarina of Time in my head as I spinned in place, and pumped a fist in the air-

Yuri and Estelle were staring at me (and I could've sworn a record scratched in my head), the former giving me a weird look while the latter looked downright confused.

…Aw, crap.

My arm went limp as we stared at each other. "Uh…" I let out, then put my hands behind my back, shifting my eyes about.

"Hey, I think I found the way out!" I exclaimed, trying to change the subject of the awkward scene I just made as I turned on my heel and looked up. "So, uh, can we leave here? Please?"

"…Yeah, sure," Yuri drawled out (dammit, now he thinks I'm weird, I thought as I made toon tears in my head), walking by me to inspect the ladder that I found. My body slumped forward a bit – oh God, I had _never_ felt this embarrassed before. I buried my face in my hand; right now, I just wanted to _die_.

I felt something tug at my sleeve and I looked over at Estelle. "Yuri went up the ladder," she told me, "so I'm going ahead. Do you mind?"

"Uh, no, go on ahead," I replied. She merely nodded and walked over to the ladder (which I just noticed the dark form of Yuri going up the ladder).

I palmed my face. Note to self: never do that again.

I let out a tired sigh (my eyes feels a bit heavy) and walked over to the ladder. Ugh, my fear of heights…

Repeating my mantra of 'Don't look down, don't look down' as I climbed the ladder, I hear a few knocks above me. When I looked up, I see that Yuri's fiddling around with…something above us. Is he trying to move something up there? This continues for a second until we all heard a large scraping noise (that made my body shudder at the volume of the noise) was heard above us. If we weren't on the ladder, we would've been giving each other a look. Yuri then put his hand onto the thing and it lifts open.

I blinked a little. Why is the sky a light shade of blue? It was slightly obscured as Yuri climbs out of the hole. I merely follow Estelle up the rest of the way, and we're out of the sewers; finally!

I let out a dramatic groan, pulling myself out of the hole, crawling away a little and lied back onto the ground (is that grass under me?), taking in deep breathes for a minute to get oxygen back into my lungs. After I had done so, I breathed out, "Aaaiiiir…! I missed you so…" I opened my eyes-

Seeing a canopy of a tree above me. I blinked. What?

I pushed myself up (seeing Yuri stretching a couple of feet away from me while Estelle looked around a little) and looked around. We seemed to be in a part of a grassy field (which explains the grass under me) somewhere, with trees above us, large bushes next to us and the identical statue we found in the castle next to us. I raised my brow. This isn't right; we should've climbed out near the fake Mordio's manor.

I pushed myself from the ground and looked around some more before settling my eyes onto the bushes (damn they're huge). I edged my way close to the bushes and moved some aside, getting a peek out. From what I can see, there was a street across from us…but there are barely any people out and about. I blinked and looked up at the sky.

'…_Oh, that explains it,'_ I thought as I stared at the sky, _'It's early morning. Which means…'_ I blanched. _'We literally wasted a whole night in there!'_

Geez! I can be a night owl at times, but I'd like some sleep too! No wonder my eyes ache a little…

I heard the bushes rustle next to me and I saw it was Yuri who parted some like I did earlier. "Huh, looks like it led to the Royal Quarter," he said.

Eh? I parted the leaves again to see.

Huh…now that he mentioned it, it DOES look similar to the game…but it looks bigger.

I walked out of the bushes and looked around some more. The streets diffidently looked cleaner – cleaner than some of the streets back at some of the malls I've been – there are what I assumed to be street lamps, lots of mansions (not as nice as the plantation ones back in Alabama)…and there's the castle (holy crap, it's huge) further away than being practically close to the fake Mordio residence and the other mansions. I think I saw a few nobles outside though…

I shuddered. Their outfits are worse than I thought… Puffy, bland…

I covered my eyes in an attempt to shield them from the 'horrific' sight.

I heard a pair of footsteps that stopped by me. "What's with you?" Yuri asked.

I just pointed at the nobles I've seen. "It burns…!" I hissed out.

He just let out a snort, attempting to cover his laugh. I just ignored him, in turn to looking over at Estelle, said girl looking around at everything with a sort of amazed expression.

"Everything looks so different from the windows of the castle," she let out in awe.

… The poor girl needs to get out some more.

"Aw c'mon," Yuri said, "You sound like this is your first time out of the castle."

She jerked a little and turned to us, a blush on her face and then starts fiddling with her fingers. "…Um, well, I…"

Me and Yuri glanced at each other, and back at her. I looked over at Yuri when he let out a sigh, shrugging. "I guess a lady who lives in a castle can't just take a walk outside whenever she wants."

"Maybe they're overprotective?" I guessed, but I kinda already knew the answer.

"Maybe," Yuri shrugs again. He gives a little grin, then holds a hand up towards her. "But, hey, at least we made it out of the castle."

I looked back over at Estelle, seeing her tilt her head with a confused look before she walked over to Yuri. After a second, she gave his palm a little poke. At least Yuri is a good sport, letting out a chuckle.

Estelle lowered her hand with a startled look. "Um, was that not right?"

"Nah…" He replied, though I could see a grin as he shook his head. "It's fine. So Estellise, what are you going to do now that you're out?"

She gives him a determined look. "I'm going to find Flynn."

I decided to put in, "Do you have any clues of where he might be?"

Estelle tilted her head a little in thought. "Well…the other day, he said he was going off on a knight's pilgrimage."

'…_You know, that information would've been useful like a LONG time ago back in that castle…'_ I thought as I turned my head so they wouldn't see the bored look on my face.

I tuned back to the two when Yuri let out, "Oooh, that thing. Going around the cities and piling up good deeds, right?"

The pinkette nodded to confirm. "Yes. That is why I'm going to the City of Blossoms, Halure. Halure is the first place that knights traditionally visit on a pilgrimage."

I blinked and tilted my head up to the sky. I wonder what Halure looks like; along with the blastia tree? It must be amazing in real life…

"-out the barrier?" I was jerked back to reality (whoa, weird) by Yuri's question.

At that, I decided to look up at the sky-

"Woah…" I let out, seeing the large rings floating above us. I can even see some letters spinning around inside the ring; however, I have no idea what they say.

I looked back down to the two in time for Estelle to ask Yuri: "Have you ever been beyond the barrier?"

Yuri spared me a glance (why am I getting an 'uh-oh' feeling?) before answering, "A little while back. I'd like to go but I can't just leave the Lower Quarter like it is."

He looked over at me this time. "What about you? What are you going to do now?"

…Crud, I haven't thought of that…

"Well…to be honest, I was pretty focused on getting out of the castle," I said as I rubbed the back of my neck, "So…do you mind if I hang out with you guys a little while longer?"

After a moment, Yuri let out a sigh. "Do what you want," he said, "Like you said, you chose to follow us."

"I know," I said, "Can't go back on what I said."

Yuri nodded then looked over at Estelle. "Come on, I'll show you the way out of town," he told her, "It's on the way to the Lower Quarter."

Estelle grinned. "Thank you!"

And just like that, we're on our merry way to the Lower Quarter!

_**~o~**_

"…Holy crap, this place is huge…" I muttered under my breath, looking around the Middle Quarter of Zaphias.

It actually took us a while to get through the Royal Quarter. It's actually a lot bigger than the game counterpart, and I had to stay close to Yuri and Estelle as we made our way to the Lower Quarter; I don't want to get lost in a place like this. Who knows what lurks around here!

Anyway, we were incredibly lucky that the knights stationed around the Royal Quarter didn't get word about the three of us; otherwise, we would've been in big trouble. Of course, we also ran into something I became terrified of (for a moment).

Stairs. With no guard rails.

So you can kinda see me being nervous going down those godforsaken stairs; they are _long_!

It took us several minutes to go down them (with me clinging to the thing closest to me – the thing being Yuri) and into the Middle Quarter, where I unlatched from my victim to look around.

Aaand, Yuri must've heard me, asking in an incredulous tone, "You sounded as if it's your first time here."

Fuck.

"Oh, um," I scratched my cheek as I answered, "I heard about this place but…I've never actually been here."

"…Huh," Yuri just let out, then waved his hand to gesture us to follow him. "C'mon, we better keep moving."

"Kay."

"Right," came the response from me and Estelle as the three of us made our way to the Lower Quarter.

I took the chance to look around. Now that it's a bit later, there are a few more people out and about now. There was a large market area further to the left of us, and of the small channels of water around parts.

'_Wow…it feels like I've gone back in time…'_ I thought, thinking back on Venice back in the Renaissance era.

If Leonardo de Vinnci was here, he would probably cry (in happiness, awe, I don't know) at a sight like this.

It took us a few minutes, but we soon found ourselves at the walkway that leads to the Lower Quarter. But before we could even walk to the opening-

"You there, fugitive! Halt, I say!"

"The jig is up!"

We all turned to the voices to see Tweedles A and B, and Leblanc…and everyone else didn't seem to notice. Either they were used to this or they just don't care.

"Oh no…" I said, seeing the Schwann Brigade.

"Fools! Enough grandstanding – arrest the two of them!" Leblanc yelled-

Wait, two?

Aw, dammit.

Me and Estelle backed behind Yuri a bit, as we stared at the knights. "Wh-What should we do?" Estelle asked nervously.

I looked to the ground. Ack! Where are the rocks when you need them?! I looked around nervously, briefly noticing Adecor and Boccos charging at us-

Oh!

"DAH!" I screamed as I pointed in a random direction to the exit of the Public Quarter, "THERE'S A GUY WITH A LARGE BLASTIA GUN SHOOTING AT PEOPLE!"

…I can't _believe_ I just used the oldest trick in the book. There's no way in hell anyone could've fallen for that-

"I say! Where?"

…

Whut?

I looked back at the two knights…to see them actually looking for someone. Oh, and Leblanc too.

"I don't see him! Where?" That was Boccos.

…Un. Believable…

I looked back at Yuri and Estelle, the former having an incredulous look on his face…while Estelle is looking around as well. "Uh…" I muttered loud enough for Yuri to hear, "Should we go?"

"While they're distracted," he said then grabbed Estelle by the arm. "Let's go."

"Wait, what about-?" Estelle began to protest as we headed to the Lower Quarter.

"There's nothing to worry about," I told her.

Thank you Heavy Weapons Guy. Thank you!

_~x~_

_**Skit: The Trick**_

_Erica: Holy crap, I didn't think they would fall for that!_

_Estellise: Fall for what?_

_Yuri: Geez, I knew they were dumb but…to fall for the oldest trick in the book? That's just sad._

_Estellise: What?_

_Erica: …You ever read that a person would randomly point in a direction, exclaim something like 'What's that?' or something similar, and they would look? Yeah, that's the thing I pulled._

_Estellise: *gasps* You-You tricked them?_

_Erica: Hey, it's the only thing I could think of! Would you rather go back to the castle before we could get to Flynn?_

_Estellise: W-Well, no…_

_Erica: Ah, I have a feeling it'll bite me in the ass one day. *sarcastic* Looking forward to it._

_Estellise: You are?_

_Erica: Not really. I was being sarcastic._

_Estellise: Oh._

_Yuri: *sighs*_

_~x~_

Ow.

To explain _that_ random statement above, the three of us were running down the slope that leads to the Lower Quarter. Of course…okay, you have to understand; there's a slope on the driveway that leads to my house. Often, I kinda run down it, during our walks, but rarely do I ever fall down and hurt myself (which, to my crappy luck, I have a tenacity to do).

So…since it's a lot different to the dirt path that I'm accustomed to, I tripped.

And took a tumble down the slope.

Yeah. It feels awesome (sarcastic).

"Oh…ow…" I groaned when I finally came to a stop at the bottom. My purse somehow fell off of me when I rolled around on the slope, laying a couple of meters before me. I'm going to feel that in the morning.

I just lie where I am; I didn't want to move right now.

Ugh, this is worse than the time I accidently rode my bike off the road…and crashed onto a tree…with my back. Thankfully, it was near my home, so, it was all good. But, this is different.

I think I heard people around me, asking if I was alright.

Clanking heels got my attention, and I heard, "Erica, are you alright?"

I didn't want to answer, so I just lifted my right arm to raise my thumb up.

"Not so graceful, are you?" That was Yuri (where did he come from?).

Ah, shaddup Yuri.

"Yuri! Where have you been?!" Ah, that must've been Hanks.

I hear something ringing and…ooh, warm. And hey, the pain I felt from the tumble is gone!

I raised my head up to see Estelle, who was kneeling beside me with her hands out before her. Ah, so she healed me. So _that's_ how Healing Artes work.

"Sank you," I said as I pushed myself up to kneel like her.

Estelle shook her head, but she still smiled all the same. "It's the least I can do."

"-And who are these young ladies?" Ah, Hanks must've noticed us.

Me and Estelle stood up (with me dusting my clothes off) as Estelle bowed politely to him. "Pleased to meet you," she said, "I'm Estellise."

Once I located my purse, I looked over at him with it in my hands. "I'm Erica," I introduced myself, "Nice to meet you sir."

Hanks nodded at us, "The please is all mine, you two." He glanced over at Yuri with a look. "Seems you've gotten _real_ popular with the ladies today, Yuri."

Yuri just half-shrugs at him.

"Err, anyways," the elder starts, turning to look at Yuri, "About those Imperial Knights…"

I kinda tuned out what Hanks and Yuri are talking about as I looked around (seeing that the people are dissipating when they saw that I was okay), finding a bench. I walked over to it to sit down and zipped open my purse. I hope my 3DS isn't in here; otherwise, I would have a really mad Dad on me for breaking my birthday gift-

I blinked. "Huh?" I let out.

Hey…what happened to my wallet? All I could see in there are the pouches of Gald that I've collected from the knights and…

I pulled out some of the stuff from in there, and I found yet _another_ pouch filled with more Gald, some…uh, items for my time of the month and…

I stared. "You've gotta be kidding me."

My 3DS is still in there. The second thing that I have on me from Earth…I checked the small pouch inside of the purse, and I found a couple of my DS games in there (which includes Tales of the Abyss, Pokémon Black Version 2, and Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story). Well great, I have my games, but I don't have the means to charge my 3DS…along with my iPod.

Crap.

I better do something about the Gald I took from the Knights. I gathered up some of them and dumped some of them into another bag to expand it a little, before I took the Gels (wow, indestructible little things aren't they?) out of my pocket and dumped them into another pouch before I put them all into my purse again, along with my iPod and earphones. I don't think they'll be safe in my pocket for a while. Not like they're going to be safe in my purse, but…better than nothing I guess.

As I walked back to the others, I heard Hanks let out a startled, "-thinking of following Mr. Mordio beyond the barrier, are ya?"

"Don't worry," Yuri assured him, "I'll be back before you know it." Uh, nope, you won't be back for a while even _after_ you get the core back.

The man 'humph's, looking away. "Who's worried?" He said, "It's a good opportunity for ya. No need for ya to hurry back here."

"Huh?" Yuri blinks, "What do you mean by that?"

"What I _mean_ is," the old man (urgh, sorry) replies, crossing his arms, "we can get along just fine without you." He looks back to Yuri. "Even Flynn used to say, 'I wonder how long Yuri plans on living this life'."

Yuri let out an irritated sigh, hanging his head a bit. "Flynn needs to learn to mind his own business."

"But, seriously," Hanks suddenly said, "Ever since you quit the Knights a few months ago, all you have been doing is getting yourself in trouble."

…What?

I stared at the two in shock as Yuri sighs again. "Geez, thinking about what happened at that time gives me back some bad memories."

"You know that Flynn is just worried about you, even after you haven't seen each other for a while since his father died ten years ago."

What...?

"Well, he really shouldn't," Yuri told him, "Flynn's a better knight than I am. And it's not because his old man is a knight."

"True," Hanks nodded, "In a few short months, he became a lieutenant. His father would've been proud of him had he been around."

…No, seriously, _what?_

That's- No, it can't be- Then…

I was wrong…

But…that doesn't make _sense_! It should've been four years ago, not a few months ago! It seemed a bit more accurate, and believable! It's-

Doh, I give up.

At least I have fan-fiction.

"Anyways, I'm going to get some things," Yuri suddenly spoke up, and turned his head to look at me, "You guys wait here, alright?"

"Kay," I said to him. Just like that, he walked off to where the Comet Inn is. I let out a sigh. "A real ladies man, is he?" I let out, my voice sarcastic.

"Ah, Yuri is just being Yuri," Hanks told me, prompting me to look at him. "Speaking of which, how did you meet up with him, Ms. Erica?"

Ugh, I don't like the formality. "You can just call me Erica," I told him, "I…don't do well with formality. And as for meeting with Yuri…well, I kinda dropped in on some knights on accident. They assumed that I'm his accomplice, and, well, the rest is history."

Hanks blinked at me through his glasses. "So, wait," he began, "you're saying you fell out of the sky or somethin'?"

"…I guess you can say that," I replied, shrugging.

Hanks just shook his head. "Never a dull moment with Yuri around…"

"Seems like everything exciting happens when he's around, eh?" I joked.

"If you can call it that," Hanks sighed.

I looked around the Lower Quarter for the first time since I've got here. "Huh, this is a rather nice place…" I said.

Sure the place isn't as clean as the Royal Quarter…but the places around here that dot around the area I'm in is nice looking. The plants are placed modestly around, not too much, but not too little either; a couple of small stores, where there are a couple of people are at; the children running around without a care in the world…and I saw a few people hefting something up together, walking over somewhere. There are also people repairing the shingles on the roof, a person passing around a bucket of nails that each person took, a couple of people repairing a window…and one of them backing off to admire his work and the other waved at him, saying "Thanks", the other saying, "No problem" and walked away.

Everywhere I look, there are people helping each other out. Seeing this made a smile appear on my face. "...If only people back home would do this more often…" I softly muttered to myself.

They all had a hard life down here, oppressed by the nobles and knights; they all had to work together to survive down here, taking in people who don't have families, and working hard to support each other. Sure there are people who do the same thing at home…but there are so few of them…and a lot of people are so selfish, hurting each other just to get what they want. People had to resort to thievery because they needed those things, like medicine, money, food…things that they couldn't afford; all of that is understandable. But…stealing for something stupid, like drugs and stuff? It isn't right.

I looked over at the aque blastia sitting there, unable to spew water without its core. The core was stolen for the sole purpose of a man's desire for power; to get what he wants. There really are people who would do a lot of selfish things…I guess I'm selfish too; for wanting what I know I won't get. But I guess most people are.

I closed my eyes…and opened them, nodding to myself. I've made my choice.

I just hope Yuri will let me go with him.

"Erica?" I blinked and looked over at Estelle.

"What? What is it?" I asked.

"You haven't said anything for a while," she said, "is there something the matter?"

I glanced up at the sky for a bit then back at her. "I was just thinking," I told her. Ugh, I hate making people worry about me like that – it's not because I'm antisocial (okay, yeah, I am) but my sister often worries that I'm depressed or something whenever I go off in la-la-land. It's this face I make when I do so. "So…sorry if I worried you, or something."

"Oh, it's fine," Estelle said, having her hands in front of her lap.

"I'm back," the two of us looked back over at Yuri, seeing him having a bag (similar to the one he had in the movie) over his shoulder, holding the straps.

"Hey Yuri," I greeted when he came up to us. "Got your stuff?"

"More or less," he said with a half-shrug.

Okay, time to put my plan into action.

"Hey Yuri, can I ask you something real quick?"

He raised his eyebrow at me. "And that would be…?"

"Is it okay if I go with you guys?" I asked.

Even Yuri looked at me in surprise. "What…?"

"I said, 'is it okay if I go with you guys'," I repeated, putting my hands onto my hips.

"I heard you the first time," he said, shaking his head. "What I want to know is, why did you ask that?"

"Well, I can think up a lot of reasons," I began, "but, the first and foremost, I wanted to come because I wanted to help you get the core back. And no," I held my hand to Hanks before he can say anything, "I don't want anyone to pay me for it."

"But why would you…?"

"I'm doing this because I wanted to," I answered, "Seeing the people here working together despite all of their troubles…I wanted to be able help the people here. And besides," I added, shrugging, "I don't want to burden the people here since the Knights are after me too."

It's the truth. I don't want all of these good people to get in trouble protecting me.

"So…can I come?"

I waited for Yuri to make his answer – he technically is the leader of the group after all. He kept his face perfectly blank, crossing his arms. I can't even tell what he was thinking.

After a few minutes of staring at each other, Yuri closed his eyes. "Okay fine," he said. "I can tell you're perfectly serious. But, just so you know," he opened them back up and I can't help but flinch at the steely look in his eyes, "you have to hold your own in this journey. Again, I won't be able to save you every time."

…Why do I have a feeling that is going to be true in the future? I hope it was just me.

I nodded. "I'll try to keep that in mind," I said.

Yuri nodded and turned to Hanks. But before he could even speak-

"YOU!"

All of us were startled and looked to the source…seeing the Schwann Brigade at the bottom of the slope leading that is the entrance to the Lower Quarter on this side.

And they looked _pissed_.

"I say, how dare you fool us with that trickery!" Adecor exclaimed.

"_No one_ fools the Schwann Brigade!" Boccos shouted, stamping his foot onto the ground.

I just shrugged. "Hey, your own fault for falling for it."

Leblanc let out a loud growl as he vigorously rubbed his head. "Enough! Arrest that woman and Yuri Lowell you two!"

"Yes sir!" The two of them exclaimed and began to charge-

I thought I saw something black slither on the ground, but that thought was shoved aside when the two of them fell to the ground.

What the-?

"Well, that's our cue," Yuri exclaimed (as if not fazed by what we just witnessed), "Looks like I won't be coming back here for a while."

Hanks chuckled a little. "It really isn't a dull moment with you around," he said, shaking his head, "After this, I'd be even with you for getting that money back."

Yuri just smirks. "Just make sure you don't kick the bucket, blowing it all on some crazy party," he says.

The elder gave a short laugh. "Same to you," he said, "Make sure you don't go dyin' in any ditches."

With that, Yuri begins to run off. I was about to follow when Hanks says, "And Erica."

Startled, I looked back at him. "Yes?"

"Make sure you two take care of each other," he says.

I nodded. "I will! Nice meeting you!" I did a short wave as I followed Yuri as quickly as I could.

I noticed Leblanc (with Tweedles A and B getting up) trying to chase us, but then the _craziest_ thing happened.

A whole _horde_ of people came from out of nowhere and swarmed the poor man. I heard them asking Leblanc (and the Tweedles) a lot of questions and excited exclamations but I was trying to fight my way through them (ugh, it's like fighting against a wave!) without hurting them.

"Excuse me! Pardon me! Uh-sorry! Oh-sorry!" That was me, and it wasn't long until I managed to get to Yuri and Estelle (when did she get ahead of me?), panting.

"Geez, that was nuts," I said, glancing back at the people. I hope Leblanc and the two Tweedles won't hurt them…

"Well they be okay?" Estelle voiced out my concern.

"FOOLS!" Leblanc bellowed, "You're in my way!"

"I say! Get out of the way!" That was Adecor.

"…If they hurt the people because of us, I'm kicking their asses," I said, narrowing my eyes.

Suddenly, I heard what seemed to be a stampede and looked to the source-

"OH MY GO- AH!" I managed to get out before the next horde of people swarmed all three of us.

I felt a lot of elbows jabbing me on the chest, and a lot of people stepping on my foot, getting a lot of pained yelps and curses from me (some of which Caitlyn would not hesitate to hit me if she ever heard them). I heard a lot of people talking but I tried to tune them out to try to find-

Black?

I felt something being shoved onto my chest, making my arms instinctively grab onto it, and I was shoved to the side. I briefly caught sight of amber eyes and short black hair but a swarm of people covered the sight again.

The next thing I knew, I was spinning around, mumbling incoherently, trying to get my balance back. I stood in place, waiting for my vision to stop spinning-

Hey, where did the people go?

"Erica, are you alright?"

"Huh?" I let out intelligently, looking towards the source-

Seeing Estelle and Yuri, holding some items they didn't have before. I blinked and looked around. I guess we're out of the mob…

I looked down to see what I have in my arms…seeing that it was a bag. "Who gave this to me?" I asked, holding it up to my eyes.

Seems I was ignored when I heard Estelle say, "Wow, Yuri." She sounded awed. "They're all going to miss you so much."

Yuri shook his head with a sigh. "It's not like that," he told her, then looked over the map and small pouch of money in his hands. "Geez, they didn't have to do this. They could barely get by as it is."

I looked over the bag with my brows raised in shock. Oh man, I hope one of those people didn't give this to me-!

"HALT!" I jerked when I heard Leblanc bellow. "Get out of my way!" Looks like Adecor and Boccos were lost in the sea of people.

"Ugh…!" I let out, putting the strap over my shoulder with my purse. I can worry about who gave this to me later! "Time to go!"

"Yeah," Yuri agreed as he put the pouch of money in the bag and the three of us turned and ran towards where the barrier is.

I thought I heard what seemed to be pots clanging against each other, but I ignored it, focusing on keeping up with Yuri and Estelle.

We stopped just ahead of the barrier, and Yuri turned to something behind us. "Nice one, Repede," he said with a smile.

"Huh?" I let out to see-

'_Holy shit,'_ I thought, my eyes wide in shock, _'He's big!'_

Here is Repede in all of his blue and white furred glory, a knife and a pouch strapped to him; the dog merely walking over to sit comfortably next to Yuri.

"A dog?" Estelle let out, looking over the German Shepard sized canine.

I kinda stared at the big dog with us, before I made my head look over to Yuri. "Where to now, Yuri?" I inquired.

"Well, for now, it's north to Deidon Hold," he told us, having looking at the map for a bit before he folded it and putting it away.

"What?" Estelle let out, startled, then it seemed like she remembers. "Oh, right."

"Ugh…this place has too much excitement," I said, rubbing my forehead, "I'd prefer the country, any day."

Yuri then looked over all of us, and smiled a little. "Well, I'm not sure how long we'll be together," he began, "But here's to the road ahead, Estelle. You too, Erica."

Yay! Estelle _finally_ has her nickname!

"Yes, I…huh?" The pinkette looked started at the name she heard. "…Es…telle?" She repeated, having a look of wonder on her face. "Estelle…Estelle." She works the name over her tongue a few times, before looking over at Yuri, nodding. "To the road ahead, Yuri!"

I smiled at her. "It suits you," I said, then decided to add in, clenching my hand: "Let's do our best!"

"Well," Yuri let out, looking back at his childhood home for the final time, "So long for now."

Estelle nodded. "We hope to be back soon!"

I looked back at the city once again, and smiled a little. "Sayonara, for now, Zaphias."

The four of us turned as one and we left the city.

My adventure begins.

_**~o~**_

Kuro watches over the quartet as they left the capital city from the rooftop. The wind made his coat and hair sway a little, before he looked up.

He could see a figure on another roof top, and made a grim smile. "I knew they wouldn't be too happy about this…" He muttered to himself.

The black haired male stood up and turned around. "Well, I've got work to do," he said before a black, man-sized oval appeared, and he walked through it, the oval closing behind him.

'_I just hope things will go well…'_

* * *

**Uh-oh. That…doesn't look good. But hey, at least we're out of Zaphias now. The real fun begins…**

**Leave a review!**


	5. Meeting the 'Duke' at the Hold

Not as great as Fairy Tales and Brave Vesperia, but, at least people like it. Good enough for me; here's the new chapter.

**Disclaimer: Still own nothing.**

* * *

I took in a deep breath through my nose and let out a relaxed sigh from my mouth. "The air is so clean here…" I marveled, feeling the wind blow against my face.

The air is warm, and the breeze feels nice. It must be spring here. I love spring more than anything; not too cold, not too hot…this season is just right for me.

"Wow…" Estelle marveled, as we all looked at the city from a distance, "the castle looks so small from here."

"Yeah, it kinda does," I agreed, using my hand to shield my eyes from the sun above us.

I think it was a few minutes (or hours, I dunno really; this place needs a clock or something) after we left the capital, all of us looking over Zaphias from the large hill (with a single tree) a couple of miles away from the city. Sure, we encountered a few monsters here and there (including the Minicoids, dastardly little bastards…) but, the four of us proved that we can handle ourselves pretty well. …Despite a couple of 'mishaps'… Like those Minicoids; they are dastardly for a reason.

Though, it was kinda my fault; I didn't look where I was going, and something decided to_ chomp_ on my foot!

After hopping on one foot, screaming and trying to yank the mushroom monster off, I finally managed to get it off, glared death at it and (using my blastia) punted it somewhere. To think I used to eat mushrooms back then…now I hate 'em. So yeah, the next few minutes had me spending being more cautious around most plant (and fungi) life, and taking my anger out on some other monsters.

Which brings us here right now.

"It's been a while since I last went outside the barrier," Yuri commented from his place near the tree.

At that, I had to think. So…First Strike really took place several months ago?

…Well, that explains a lot actually. It doesn't seem possible that Yuri would become a known criminal (to the knights) in four short years; most of the things he did – crime wise – are just minor. Among other things…

"Hey!"

"Huh-? Whoa!" I let out as I caught something red. Looking down at it, it was an apple. But who-?

"Time for lunch," Yuri said (getting me to look at him), digging out two more and handed one to Estelle, handing what seemed to be a jerky to Repede, before taking a bite out of the apple in his hands.

I looked down at the apple in my hands with a brow raised. This is his idea of a lunch?

…Well, we don't exactly have cooking materials yet, so, it'll have to do I guess. With a shrug, I took a bite of it.

I sat down onto the grass, crossing my legs as I ate my apple. This is perfectly sweet, and crunchy, too! I like apples like this; but mostly, I just like sweet stuff. As I eat, I overheard Estelle asking Yuri, "How long is it until we reach Deidon Hold?"

Yuri made an 'I don't know' type of grunt. "Maybe a couple of hours," he guessed, "Would probably be faster if we had a ride or something."

Yeah, it'll probably take less time if we were in a car or something. We would probably be there in a few minutes or so. Unfortunately, Terca Lumireis is still kinda…primitive compared to Earth. But, people were like that as well back home before electricity and steam were used to power up stuff we used today; not to mention that we kept improving our technology even today…

It won't be long until our lives would be taken over by the very machines we can't leave without now… Or did it already happen? Things used to be so simple back then…

I belatedly realized that I had already taken down the fruit. Huh, I must've been real hungry…

I merely stood up and chucked the core somewhere. …I really hope I didn't hit something with it. Like a monster, or a knight; that would've ruined our day if it did.

Stretching my arms over my head (letting out some grunts as I did so), I sat onto the ground and lied back, my arms and legs sprawled out as I looked up at the sky. …Huh, the sky really is no different from the sky back home. The part of that poem from Kingdom Hearts is kinda spot on: 'There are many worlds, but they share the same sky'. The view of the sky is pretty much the same back around the mountains and around my grandparents' house in Florida; only, you can view the stars really well at the mountains…and it's much quieter than the small suburban my grandparents live (besides the frogs that would croak during spring on their mating season). I prefer the country better than the city.

But that's probably because I've live on the mountains (or rather, the country) for as long as I could remember. I don't really go out much, because I barely have any friends around the area I lived in. I do have a couple, but they've moved on with their lives – some probably succeeding where they are now and some are now far away from home – or…they just didn't. Life really doesn't wait on people; life kinda…passed over me.

I sighed.

Now I'm homesick.

Sure there are times that I've been away from home (on vacation to Florida, or at that time during my senior year in high school) but I knew that I'm able to come home.

But here…

Here, I'm not sure IF I'll be able to get back home. After reading a few self-inserts, I now understand that no matter where that person is, it's THEIR reality. This is my reality, now. One mistake could cost me my life; there are no 'do-overs' when you are defeated. It's permanently 'game over' for me if I die.

…And it's possible that Yuri and the others might die as well. This world is no longer a game anymore…the main characters can really die…

I felt the anxiety gripping my guts again… it always happens whenever I felt something scaring me. Or when I feel that something bad is going to happen.

I…I wanted to believe that all of them are strong… But…they're human; there's really little that they can do. Can I survive against the monsters? Can I survive against the guilds of the Blood Alliance, Hunting Blades and Leviathan's Claw? Can I survive against Alexei? Can I survive against the Entelexia?

…Can I really survive against _Duke_ if I managed to get that far?

Aw, hell; what if I-?

I pushed myself up (getting a bit of head rush) and smacked my cheeks…then settled for pinching my cheeks as hard as I could. C'mon Erica! Get yourself together! I won't allow myself to brood; not now!

"H-Hey! What are you doing?" Oh crap, that was Estelle.

I stopped abusing my face and looked over to Estelle as she got to my side. "What?" I just say.

"Why are you doing that?" She asked as she kneeled beside me, "You shouldn't hurt yourself like that."

Daw…crepe, I didn't mean to make her worry. My anti-socialness (and being around my sister most of the time) hates making people worry. Especially when you just wanted to make your mind stop brooding – brooding makes people think bad thoughts and go emo (no offense to emo people; I really don't have any problems with them).

I rubbed my cheeks a little before I looked over at the princess. "Sorry," I said, feeling sheepish. "I…Well, my thoughts took a wrong turn and I had to get myself out of there."

Estelle tilted her head. "The wrong turn?"

At that, I'm not sure how to answer that. As far as I knew, Estelle is naïve to the outside world (her being sheltered didn't help much) and the only person that is willing to interact with her is Flynn. Sure, she knew about the trouble at Shizontonia in the movie…but she didn't realize how bad it was over there (along with Flynn). Since the servants and knights probably have little interactions with her, she doesn't know much about other people and how they think.

…Yet she had the desire to help people, because she had the power (literally) to do such things – and she didn't realize her powers endangered this world. Her being naïve to the world and her compassion for other people…they're all qualities that made her pure. What sort of right do I have to tell her of the darkness of most people – the darkness that might be dangerous to be unleashed on the people?

…At times, I don't know if I'm a pessimist or something. Maybe I am.

A yawn escaped my mouth. Oh, right; spent the entire night running around in that damn castle. Mm, maybe being sleep deprived made me think of those things. Probably.

I grunted. "I think me being sleepy made me think of these things," I said. "I dunno really. My brain needs some time to catch up."

Unexpectedly Yuri let out a grunt. "Yeah," he said, "Being unconscious for a few hours doesn't exactly count as a rest."

I blinked at him. "How do you know about that?"

"I experienced it a few times myself sometime after I left the knights," was his response.

…Oh. Right; he probably got thrown in jail a lot, protecting the citizens of the Lower Quarter.

I shrugged. "Alright," I said, "you're the expert."

Yuri just let out another grunt, before standing up and chucking the apple core somewhere. Huh, he must've gotten done with his a while ago. Looking down at us, he said, "Let's go."

"Right."

"Okay," me and Estelle (respectively) responded in that order as we rose to our feet.

And so we resumed our journey to Deidon Hold.

_~x~_

_**Skit: Christening Estelle**_

_Estelle: *muttering* …Estelle… Estelle…_

_Yuri: She's been mumbling to herself for a while now…_

_Repede: *Whine*_

_Yuri: Hey, you coming? We don't have all day here._

_Estelle: Estelle… Estelle…_

_Erica: *comes in* …What's going on?_

_Yuri: I dunno. It looks like she's in her own little world… Hey! Estelle!_

_Estelle: Oh, right! Sorry, I'm coming!_

_Yuri: Do they not have nicknames where she's from?_

_Erica: I guess not._

_~x~_

_**Skit: Nice to Meet You, Repede**_

_Estelle: Yuri, is this dog yours?_

_Yuri: Yeah, he's my partner, Repede._

_Repede: Woof!_

_Estelle: Oh, nice to meet you, too._

_Yuri: *surprised* 'Nice to meet you, too?' Did you actually understand what Repede was saying?_

_Estelle: *unsure* No…_

_Yuri: Yeah, I guess that was a stupid question._

_~x~_

_**Skit: Bite My Face?**_

_Erica: *shocked* …_

_Repede: …_

_Erica: …_

_Yuri: *comes in* Hey, Erica-?_

_Erica: AH!_

_Yuri: Whoa! What's wrong?_

_Erica: Geez! Don't do that Yuri! I thought that was Repede for a moment!_

_Yuri: Why? What's wrong?_

_Erica: It's just… Well, it looks like he could bite my face off._

_Repede: *Whine*_

_Yuri: *looks at her weirdly* …I don't think Repede could do that._

_Erica: *nervously laughs* Actually, there are some dogs that could do that with training…_

_Yuri: *intrigued look* Really? In that case…_

_Erica: *shocked look with a gasp* G-Geez! Don't jack with my head like that!_

_~x~_

_**Skit: On Traveling**_

_Yuri: I never guessed I'd leave home quite like this._

_Estelle: Are you sorry to be leaving the capital behind, Yuri?_

_Yuri: When I was in the Lower Quarter, I was too busy just living day to day._

_Erica: Wow…It looks like you had it rough._

_Yuri: Yeah… I never really thought about it. I guess I did feel like setting out on an adventure sometimes._

_Erica: Yeah. 'Spread your wings' is the old saying; I was itching to leave my own nest one day. Not sure when though._

_Estelle: I'm so excited just to be outside. I've always dreamed of going out into the world._

_Yuri: Being excited and all is fine, but don't overdo it. We need to find Flynn, right?_

_Estelle: I'm excited AND worried all at the same time._

_Erica: Yeah…going out is fine, but we still need to keep our eye on our objectives: finding Flynn AND the blastia thieves. So, Hakuna Matata!_

_Yuri and Estelle: What?_

_Erica: I heard it from somewhere; it means 'no worries'._

_Yuri: 'Hakuna Matata'… Heh, all right._

_Erica: (thinking) _Ah, childhood. You can't beat Lion King…

_~x~_

_**Skit: Outside the Barrier**_

_Estelle: I've heard stories about monsters living outside the barrier, but it's really true!_

_Yuri: Yeah._

_Estelle: Now I understand why everyone says the world outside the barrier is so dangerous._

_Yuri: It's pretty easy to forget the monsters are even out here, when you live on the inside. We better not let our guard down._

_Estelle: Right._

_Repede: Woof!_

_~x~_

I was humming Saria's Song (from Orcarina of Time) to myself, my hands behind my head when I overheard a conversation going between Yuri and Estelle.

"You don't use magic, do you Yuri?" The pinkette asked the swordsman.

I looked over at the two and lowered my arms. Hey, isn't this one of the skits from the game? I…forgot the title to it, but I listen in anyway.

"It's not that I don't," Yuri told her, shaking his head. "I can't. That's one talent I don't have."

"But anyone with a blastia should be able to use magic if they just learn the theory right?"

They do? Huh…

"I told you," Yuri scoffed, "I don't have the knack for learning magical theory!"

Estelle tilted her head at him. "In other words…you're bad at studying?"

"That's one way to put it…" Yuri shrugs.

At that, I felt a grin working its way onto my face. "Ah, so that's one skill you don't have, do you?"

Yuri just looked over at me with a bored look. "Yeah, and?"

I waved my hand. "Hey, hey, listen man," I began, "I don't mean any offense or anything." I don't want to have a pissed off swordsman after me. "I just…find it weird is all. You seemed so good at everything else." At fist fights, at swordsmanship, cooking…

The man raised his brow at me. "Yeah, well, there are some things I'm not so good with."

I raised a brow, but I didn't press. Instead, I say, "Well, I guess it's understandable. There are some things people are good at; just not everything." Like Flynn and his horrible cooking…

Which makes me wonder: am I any good at magic?

Being able to use magic would've been awesome. In most RPGs, I'm always the mage, so I'm always best with Genis and Rita in Tales of Symphonia and Vesperia (whenever me and Cait are playing the games); but I can also play as the main characters, Lloyd and Yuri. All I have to do is set up the right moves and they're good to go.

But 'using' magic back home and using magic here are probably different. To my terrible luck, I'll probably have a horrible time understanding the theory as Estelle said.

…It doesn't hurt to try, right?

"Speaking of which," I looked over at Estelle, "You said anyone can use magic if they understand the theory, right?"

She nodded. "Yes."

"Is it possible for _me_ to learn magic?" I pointed at myself as I asked my question.

Nod. "Of course."

I crossed my arms as I came across a problem. "I wonder how that works…"

"Why are you interested in this anyway?" Yuri's question got me to look at him.

"Well…don't you think it's easier to have another healer in this group?"

"Huh?" At that, we all stopped as the two (and Repede) looked over at me. It was Estelle who let out the 'huh?'

Oh boy. I rubbed the back of my head; how am I going to explain this? In Tales of Symphonia (the first Tales game I've played) I always have two healers in a group (being Raine and Kratos or Zelos), a mage and an attacker. It didn't change even when I play Tales of the Abyss and Vesperia. I figured that it was common sense, since having two healers would help the group out pretty much. But…thinking about it now…

"Well…" I began, "Let's say that something happens to Estelle. Right now, she's the only healer of this group, right?"

"Um, right," Estelle nodded, looking a bit nervous.

"Okay, this…'something' is where she had gotten knocked out, unconscious or kidnapped – those are just worse case scenarios by the way," I added in, seeing Estelle's look, "And something may have happened to either of us, like poisoned or we just had a real bad injury. So, without, like, another healer, I figured that we might get screwed over. Know what I'm saying?"

Estelle tilted her head while Yuri rubbed his chin at this. Repede just yawned as I stood there, waiting for their response.

Yuri was the first to break it. "So you're saying that you wanted to know Healing Artes?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "That way, it'll be easier on Estelle during our journey." Not to mention that we'll be gaining four more members in the future.

I kinda paused at this. "Wow…a gunner and a healer… Is that an oxymoron?"

"Oxy-what?"

Oh… "Um…" I rubbed my chin at this, trying to figure how to answer Yuri's question. I know what it is, but I forgot the meaning… Dammit! Sometimes I hate my short attention span!

Oh! I kinda remember now. "Think of it this way: A villain doing a heroic pose."

At that, Yuri raised a brow. "Why would a villain make a heroic pose if they're the villain?"

I shrugged. "That's just an example," I told him, "Oxymoron is basically a being that is what it is just doing the opposite of what they should be."

"…You lost me there."

"Yeah, I lost myself too," I said, rubbing my head. Sometimes, I confuse myself.

"Here," I blinked when a book was presented to me. I looked up at the source of the hands, seeing Estelle smiling at me. "I took this book along just in case I needed to understand more Healing Artes. I'll let you borrow it for now."

"Oh…uh, thank you," I said, taking the book from her-

My eyes went wide when I looked at the title. Uh oh.

"What? What is it?" I jumped a little when I heard Estelle. I looked at her (seeing her concerned look), back at the book, at her and the book again before I shook my head.

"It's nothing," I said, opening the latch of the bag, putting the book in the bag. "I'll look at it later, kay?"

Estelle nodded, seeming to accept my answer. "All right then."

The pinkette walked off…but I felt three eyes looking over at me. I turned to see Yuri and Repede looking over at me…and I never thought I'd see a _dog_ look at me in suspicion.

"You sure there's nothing wrong?" Yuri asked me.

"Uh…nope, I'm pretty sure."

Somehow, I'm getting a feeling that he wasn't convinced…but he turned and walked away, with Repede following.

Once he was at a certain distance, I sighed. Crap, he probably knew that I couldn't read their language.

I can…to an extent. But I can't really memorize things like that; I found it on the internet but didn't pay much attention to it.

I have a feeling it's going to bite me on the ass.

_**~o~**_

"Whoa/Wow…" Was pretty much what the three of us said when we finally reached Deidon Hold.

Again, since we don't have a clock or a watch, I have no idea how long we've been walking (and fighting; I learned Aqua Bullet as a result, so it was all good) since our conversation on magic and stuff. But…I'm guessing it's around two o'clock or something around that area. Wish we had something to tell time, like a sun dial or something…

Anyways, like Zaphias, the Hold is bigger than it seems from the game. There are a lot of carriages with merchants and vendors selling their things to the people passing through. The gates at the Hold are large enough for a lot of people and carriages to come through (can a tank fit through it?). I looked at both sides of the Hold; the stone walls looked strong enough for enduring the weather but what about natural disasters? Said place looked to be placed between two mountains in a mountain range (yay mountains!).

All and all, the place is huge. And I felt relieved to see some mountains (since I practically grew up around them).

I spotted Yuri looking around the 'rest area'. "So this is Deidon Hold," he said, and I blinked at him. Had he never been here before?

"'Deidon Hold'," we both looked over at the pinkette, who closed her eyes and placed her hands over her lap as she began in 'recital mode', "'The fortification between Zaphias and Halure with the goal served to block advancing monsters and house travelers who wish to pass through'."

Huh, if Estelle lived on Earth, she could've been an excellent tour guide.

As if in response to our (slightly) confused looks, Estelle looked over at us with a slight smile. "I once read about it in a book," she explained.

"…That's a hell of a photographic memory there," I had to comment. I'm sort of the same, but with games. The girl puts me to shame…

"Nice introduction there," that was Yuri's dry comment, but he looked impressed by the information.

I glanced around the Hold for a few moments, taking in the sights. For a rest stop, the place is rather lively. With the money that I've, err, taken from the knights, it'll be good to stock up-

The familiar green and brown armor of the Imperial Knights standing around the gates caught my eyes. "Guys," I said loud enough for them to hear and pointed at them.

"Do you think those knights followed us here?" Estelle asked.

"It could be," I piped up, walking back to them, "Or they could've been a different platoon that didn't have any info about what happened at the castle."

"In any case, let's do our best not to stand out," Yuri suggested.

"Yeah," I nodded, "It could ruin our day if we're caught by the knights…"

We walked into the Hold, with Estelle saying, "I hope we'll get through. I just wanted to catch up to Flynn as soon as possible…"

…I hope we don't need passports or something. That could've been bad.

"Well, who knows?" Was Yuri's half-answer.

I looked around a bit at the vendors around the Hold. "…Maybe it would be a good idea to get some supplies," I said, "We did kinda rush out of Zaphias…"

"That is true," Yuri said, "You don't mind, do you Estelle?" No answer. "Estelle?" We both turned to look at the girl…

…Or rather, where she originally was. We both looked up to see the girl running over to the wagon we went by.

"…Well, I guess that answers our question…" I said as I rubbed my head and looked around-

A head of white went through the crowd.

I felt something drop to my stomach when I saw that. Duke? I looked back at Yuri and Estelle, the man going over to the wagon where the girl is. I looked over to where I saw the head of white…back at them…where I saw Duke…

I moved my legs a little…before I turned and walked off.

…Maybe I should try to talk to Duke.

_~x~_

_**Skit: Duke**_

_Erica: Holy crap, Duke's here. I know that it's possible to meet him early in the game…but they never really explained why he was here to begin with. Was he really here to contemplate the existence of humanity…? Oh man…I'm REALLY nervous to meet him, now… The hell was I thinking?_

_~x~_

I let out a grunt, looking around to try to find that head of white. You can barely miss it!

…But that guy can easily blend into the crowd if he needed to be. Man, why do people have apathy (I shouldn't be one to talk) especially around here? Do people just ignore things that they don't find 'important' in their lives?

"Hm…" I let out, looking around. Oh great, I'm completely lost…

Well, not really lost… I think-ish. I can see a lot of vendors around, calling out to people to sell their wares. Some of which selling jewelry, food – ranging from fruit, nuts, bread and meat (meat…), clothes-

At that, I looked down at my own clothes. Oh…man, I'd stick out like a sore thumb against these people. …Yet I don't want to get rid of them; besides my electronics, these clothes are all that I had to remind me that I'm from Earth.

…Maybe I should forget about Duke and find a place where I can find clothes. Speaking of which…maybe I should take the time to look through that bag I've, uh, 'obtained'.

Nodding to myself, I headed to where I was pretty sure the tents are at.

…Though I had to ask one of the travelers where they're at after a few minutes. What? There's nothing wrong with asking for directions!

"Okay, thanks!" I said as I waved behind me to head where the tents are-

"Oof!" I let out as I ran into something – something hard. Did I run into a wall?

I looked up-

A pair of red eyes with white hair over them stared down at me.

"Oh f-!" I let out as I quickly backed away from the man (my startled oath sounded like 'oof!'). Holy shit, it's Duke in all of his white haired, black and red clothed glory.

He's…holy crap, he's taller than I am…and he's so…thin. Wiry looking. How old is he?

Err.

I went to the side and bowed instinctively. "I-I'm sorry!" I said quickly. "I didn't see you there! Honest!"

I kept my head bowed. Compared to Alexei, this guy scares the living _crap_ out of me.

"…Those are rather strange clothes you have," I nearly jumped out of my skin when I heard his voice – so freaking deep and _monotonous_ – but I was panicking on the inside.

"Uh…" I straightened up; I suddenly felt so…is this what being meek feels like? "What makes you say that?"

He merely stared at me before walking off somewhere. I watched his retreating back, his long white hair trailing behind him.

As soon as he was out of my sight, I just wanted to fall to the ground. But I had something else to do; so after shuddering and shaking my head, I headed to where the tents are. "Good God, that was scary…"

Now I know how that Rabbid feels when he was caught by Lucy after he stole her panties in that G-Mod I saw.

_**~o~**_

It actually didn't take me long to find the tents. They're exactly at the same place where they were in the game: at the bottom of a small hill with a slope carved into it with most of the dirt cut out to make room for tents…only there weren't four (I think; it's been a while since I've played Tales of Vesperia) there were like twenty of them.

Of course, I had to wait a few minutes until one of them is free. Some of them are occupied…for obvious reasons.

I'd rather not go into detail. Let's just say that the images created from the sounds I heard coming from the tents will no doubt haunt me.

Anyways, once a tent is empty, I made my way in there. I told the knights earlier that I'm going to use it for a bit, and give it to someone else who needs it when I'm done.

Once I'm behind the flap, I sat down and opened the bag from the latch (not like the buckles found on most bags and on straps to helmets), a fang through a small loop attached to the bag.

The first thing I saw inside were folded up clothes (neatly, I might add) colored brown and orange and cream. I raised a brow at this, but set the outfit aside…then I pulled out what seemed to be…leather guard? I think so. Blinking, I stretched it a little, and even sniffed it-

I coughed as the strong smell coming from it hit my lungs. Whoa. That's real leather there. I also placed it aside and dug around some more-

I pulled out a…blanket (how the hell did that fit in there?) and a pillow. Followed by a…circular object with the yin-yang design on it with a cylinder shaped…funnel(?) on top. I twisted the cylinder a little, and became surprised to see that it's actually a cap. After I unscrewed it, I looked inside. Hey, it's a water canteen! Neat! At least I won't bum anyone for water. After sloshing the water around, I used the water to rinse my mouth and gulped. Reminds me of Aquafina…nice.

After closing the canteen, I set it aside and dug some more. I pulled out the book Estelle lended to me…and a notepad? Blinking, I set the book down and opened the small notepad. The first page made me do a bored look.

'_Hey, I figured you might need this stuff,'_ the note said, _'So I took the liberty of picking these things out for you, along with a new outfit to help you blend here a bit better. You'll have to buy your own boots and other necessities, though, since you have enough money. I'm not spoiling you THAT much. Good luck!' _The end of the note had what looked like Kuro's grinning face as he made a peace sign…though it was horribly drawn, but it seemed he didn't care.

Ugh…that guy, I swear.

I looked over at the clothes I laid out. …Well, if he went through all of the trouble to get me these, I better go and wear them. But first...

I checked inside the bag again…and I felt my face go red as an indigent look crossed my face.

…Where in the hell did that guy get some panties and bras?

The next time I see him, I'm going to smack him (the possible pervert).

_**~o~**_

"Here you go."

"Thank you," I nodded to the vendor from the wagon near the entrance to the Hold, taking the items I purchased. After handing him the Gald, I then walked off toward a nearby bench, setting down the boots and fingerless gloves as I dug around my purse to pull out the small sack of gels I had, dumping the Orange Gels in there.

Once I had done the deed, and replacing it back into the purse, I hesitated to remove my sneakers. They are the sole piece of 'clothing' that I had on me…but those would make me stand out; not to mention that it'll look odd with the clothes I'm not wearing.

The outfit I'm now wearing (instead of my Earth clothes of a white shirt, purple t-shirt, purple jacket and jeans) consists of a brown sleeveless trench coat (the bottom hems ending just above my knees) with green designs on it (reminding me a little of the markings on Amaterasu from Okami), an orange sleeveless shirt under it, and a pair of cream colored pants (which, I am thankful for; I prefer pants more than anything, really). The brown boots and blue fingerless gloves I've just bought should complete the outfit.

I let out a sigh, and pulled my sneakers off. When I managed to put them into the bag (somehow; along with my Earth clothes and junk) I pulled on the leather boots and the gloves. Once I'm done, I stood up and looked over myself.

Wow…it feels like I really _am_ from Terca Lumireis. A true Vesperian character; and I'm even a part of the group.

I giggled. Wow…I feel like a total nerd (which I am) thinking about that. Add the guns, and-

Oh, right. The belt; I can't believe I've forgotten about it.

I sat back down and took the belt off. To my surprise, despite being heavy…there's nothing in it.

…Except for one thing. The one thing that made my eyes go wide; to the point that I thought my eyeballs would fall out of their sockets.

No…

"There you are!"

The suddenly voice made me jump and I quickly put my finding back where I found it and look back up.

I let out a shaky breath. "Geez Estelle," I said, as I stood up and put the belt back on, "You nearly gave me a heart attack."

Wrong thing to say, because the girl then gasped. "What? Oh no are you okay?" She ran over to me and tried to pat me down.

"Uh- E-Estelle!"

"I-I am so sorry!" She exclaimed, looking panicky, "I didn't know that I would've killed you!"

"Hey-Hey! Estelle!" I had to make my voice louder to get her to stop and look up at me with a hurt look. I grimaced. Crap, I hurt her feelings. "Uh, l-look Estelle; I'm fine, really! It's just an expression is all; didn't mean to make you worry."

"O-Oh, really?" She tilted her head at this.

"Yeah," I said, nodding, "So, uh…sorry about that."

Man, I suck at talking.

"Oh, no, it's fine," the pinkette said, shaking her head a little. "I jumped to conclusions is all."

I let out a groan, pinching the bridge of my nose. This girl reminds me of Colette at times; but the two of them are _real_ different. For one, Colette is suffering with the fact that she would die when she revives the world, taking it on with a smile and she didn't want anyone – especially Lloyd – not to worry…while making her friend suffer because he felt useless to help her; after arriving in Tethe'alla and regaining her soul, she realized that she wanted to live, more than anything. That's her motivation to restore the worlds back to normal.

Estelle… Estelle had no idea what her powers are; and of the danger the world was put in. She truly is innocent of the ways to the world. And it's not even her fault.

"What? What is it?" Aaand, Estelle is worried about the groan I made.

I slide my hand over my face and I shook it a little. "It's nothing," I told her, "I'm still a bit tired is all."

"Oh." She said with a blink. "Um, okay…"

"Hey, you found her," Yuri's voice got the two of us to look over at him, said man walking over to us with Repede beside him. He looked over my new attire for a bit. "Almost didn't recognize you, if it hadn't been for your glasses and bodhi blastia."

I made a bored look at him. "You're a _real_ comedian, aren't you?" I said in sarcasm.

He just shrugged. "I've heard worse."

"Anyway," Estelle looked back at me (as I did in turn for her), "we should be able to cross the gate to get to Halure now."

"We should be wary of the monsters out there, though," Yuri pointed out, crossing his arms. "A small group should be able to slip by, but…"

Ah. "So the chances of us getting by them unscathed are rather unlikely," I guessed.

"Seems so."

At that moment, the sound of bells being ringed managed to pierce the chatter of other people at the Hold. It scared the hell out of us and we looked around before screams filled the air. We turned to the source to see people running through the gate to get into the Hold. …And what was that rumbling that I felt under my feet?

"What's going on?" I asked, startled.

"I dunno, but- Estelle, wait!" Yuri called out to the pinkette as she suddenly took off running towards the gate. The man let out a groan before he and Repede ran after her.

"The girl is going to be the death of us…" I muttered before I ran as fast as I could to follow them.

As soon as I caught up to them…I had my second dose of chaos since I got here. And frankly…this is the first time I've seen a stampede.

A stampede of _monsters_; a whole horde of Rhinocceros (I think; I hadn't played Vesperia for a while) followed by the Lord of the Plains (or the Giganto Monster, Brute), charging towards the Hold. The Brute let out a loud bellow and made the people outside of the Hold shriek in terror, using whatever strength they had to try to outrun the beasts.

Oh man.

"Hurry!" I heard Kaufman shout out to the people in the field, the rest was tuned out by me watching the people trampling each other in their panic to get inside. …And I thought Black Friday was bad…

Worse, the monsters are getting close. In fear, the Knight on the lookout commanded, "Okay! They're all in! Close it up!"

"Hold the gate!" Kaufman shouted, "There are still many people left!"

At that, blurs of black and white that are Yuri and Estelle rushed out. "H-Hey!" I let out as Repede darted out beside me. I let out a groan and rubbed my head vigorously. What the hell should I do?

"Has anyone seen my little boy?!" I jerked and looked over at a woman, looking around frantically for something. "Where's my little boy?! THOMAS!"

I looked back and I saw a little boy out in the field, crying and- there was a bit of blood running down his leg a little and one of the boar monsters is charging at him-

My body reacted before my brain could and I rushed out to the field, to get to that boy.

"C'mon bitch!" I shouted to myself, "Use your long legs!"

After this, I'm going to question my sanity.

I somehow managed to reach the boy, went around him while drawing my guns and got into a crouch. "TWIN BULLET!" I shouted as I fired six shots at the boar charging. Five hit parts of it-

The sixth hit its eye, destroying it and the beast fell over, its body skidding close to where we were.

My heart was pounding the entire time as I put the gun in my left hand away and grabbed the boy (he was no older than five), and my mind was repeating 'Ohshitohshitohshit!' as I ran back to the hold as fast as I could. I could hear the others running behind me, making me run faster to outrun them.

"Ooooooooh FUCK!" I shouted as I put away my other gun and got a firm hold of the boy and-

Okay, I honestly didn't know what happened but it was a blur. I remember hearing a little girl shouting for her doll, someone yelling at someone else to go back, more screams-

And the great thud that was the gates closing got me back to reality. Everything was silent, save for the staggering force of the monster impacting the Hold-

Wait. Hold? Then-

I was startled out of my thoughts when I heard cheering. I jerked my head around in shock, seeing a lot of people cheering for…us? I then spotted Yuri lifting himself up from the floor with a groan, a doll of sorts in his arms and Estelle standing next to him, panting with a hand over her chest.

What? Huh? What happened-?

"Thomas!" The woman from earlier exclaimed, and I suddenly remembered the boy in my arms. Huh, so this is Thomas?

I was confirmed of my guess when the boy exclaimed, "Mommy!" reaching out for the woman, running towards me.

The woman took the boy from my arms and snuggled her cheek against his. "Oh Thomas… if anything had happened to you, I'd…!" The woman looked over at me, a smile on her face. "Thank you. Thank you for saving my little boy."

"Uh…" I let out. My chest feels so…warm. "Y-You're welcome, ma'am."

"Here, let me," that was Estelle, moving over to heal the boy's injury.

A few moments later, everyone had dispersed from the square…and I fell over on my ass, still feeling my heart thrumming. Then I fell onto my back. "Holy shit…I don't want to do that again…"

"Woah…!" And that was Estelle, falling to her knees, her head bowed as she catches her breath.

"All worn out?" I'm not sure if it's directed at me, Estelle or both, but I nodded all the same to Yuri's inquiry. It was soon followed by him sitting on the ground as well.

"Ho man," I breathed out, my heart slowly calming down, "That, was the _craziest_ thing, I have ever done in my life."

Yuri let out a grunt. "I'm kinda surprised by how fast you ran."

I lifted my head to look at him. "I did?" I asked.

Estelle joined Yuri in looking over at me, like I've just grown a second head or something. "Don't you remember?" The princess asked, surprised by my confusion.

"Uh…" I racked my brain for the info. "Well, I remember someone shouting for her doll, someone yelling and some screams…Other than that, I don't remember."

"It must have been the adrenaline rush back there," Yuri said.

I made a face then shook my head, letting my head fall back to the ground. "Nah, I think I was so scared out of my mind that I ran that fast." I felt adrenaline before while riding on roller coasters…but, somehow, it's…different with what I've experienced right now.

"Still," I glanced over at Estelle…seeing her smiling down at me. "That was very brave of you to go out there to save that boy."

I stared at her for a few moments before I looked back up at the sky. "Yeah…I couldn't let his mom go through the grief of losing her child…"

I never liked seeing people in front of me being sad; it makes me want to cry with them. I didn't mean for it to sound cruel or anything, but…it feels like I can _feel_ their sadness. It was as if something within me wanted to bear their sadness…

I just don't know myself at times.

"-erous with so many ferocious monsters around," I was returned to reality when I heard Estelle musing to herself, sounding troubled.

"This place could really use a barrier against a pack like that," Yuri said.

As if on cue, a forceful pound on the gate (and the ground trembling under us) I bolted up to sit – getting a bit of head rush in the process (again) – and look back at the gate. …If the Hold is 100 years old, how much longer could it take from the Lord of the Plains and its pack attacking this place repeatedly? Is the imbalance of aer really affecting the monsters…?

"You're right, and with our current technology we can't make any more barrier blastia," Estelle sighs. "If only we could recover the secrets of the ancient Geraios civilization… They created the blastia after all."

I stayed silent. I was the only one (besides the Entelexia, the Krityans and Duke) on this world who knew of the real reason why the blastia were buried. If the aer became more imbalanced…I don't think the world can stand against a _second_ Adephagoes. Not only that, but Zaude will weaken, and the Adephagoes above the world will return.

If it's destroyed by the power of mana and spirits…would the monsters become calm? From what I can remember, the monsters don't really bother the towns and cities on Tales of Symphonia and Tales of the Abyss; maybe aer is more…corrupted than mana and fonons?

I tuned back in to the conversation in time for Yuri to scoff out, "Even if that were to happen, I can't see the empire using that knowledge for the common good."

…You have no idea how right you are, Yuri…

Repede's bark alerted us to a knight boldly approaching us. The three of us stood up, gathering our bearings just as he called out: "You there!"

Oh crap; after the stunt we pulled, there's no point in 'keeping a low profile'.

The four of us are tense when the knight reaches us, the halberd in hand as he cleared his throat. "I'd like to have a word with you," he said, looking at us, before adding, "All of you."

"Is that so?" Yuri didn't look intimidated by this.

"So why don't you let us through?!" A sudden voice startled most of us and we turned to the source-

'_Oh great; it's the Hunting Blades…'_ I thought, seeing two of the three prime members of the Monster Hunting Guild, Tison and Clint; arguing with a few knights.

"I'll beat those monsters up with these fists of mine!" The said white haired man cracked his knuckled to prove his point as Clint watched silently with his arms crossed.

"How many times do we have to say it?" One of them spoke up, "These monsters are tougher than you think!"

That actually depends; the Brute is pretty much cakewalk when the group is around level forty or fifty.

Tison suddenly grabs the knight that spoke up by the collar and pulled him close to his face. "You dare to doubt the power of the monster hunters?!"

Uh, yeah; because you guys can't even kill an Entelexia – and thank the gods I didn't voice that out; not only would I get my ass killed by these hotheads but that'll make me look suspicious.

Clint then grabbed his large sword and lifted it up high. The other knight panicked. "No, wait- Stop!"

Instead of what (most) would think the leader of the Hunting Blades would do, the brunette used the blade to-

My eyes went wide. "Holy shit…" I muttered, seeing a large _cut_ on the ground. I would've thought it looked cool…if I wasn't scared at the same time.

"You stay out of this!" Tison shouted, shoving the knight in his grasp aside (and I caught sight of his long, sharp looking nails) and glared down at him, "You knights cheated us out of a job back there, and now. We're gonna work off some steam!"

…I honestly can't see Karol being around these guys.

Oh, the knight in front of us is torn between us and the guildsmen, before he decided to join the reinforcements who arrived on the scene. "H-Hey! Hold it!"

"The Hunting Blades never back down!"

"It's always the same with these guild idiots!" Another shouted.

…Okay, I can't believe I'm saying this, but thank god for the Hunting Blades. For now.

"Great," Yuri drawled sarcastically, "we'll never get through as long as this keeps up."

"But Flynn is headed to Halure! And we're so close," Estelle said.

…I really hate to break it to her, but…I got to be realistic. "…Or Flynn may have already reached Halure and left…" I said, recalling the opening animation of the game; rubbing my chin in thought.

"B-But…!"

"It's a possibility Estelle," I told her, "he may or may not have reached Halure yet or he already did. The guy had a head start on us after all."

"That, and…" I trailed off as I looked over at the gate, hearing the monsters still trying to bust through.

Yuri got my point. "Yeah; and getting caught by the knights wouldn't be too fun." I glanced over at him, seeing him looking around for a moment before he turned. "Come on, let's find another way through."

"…Seems it's the only thing we CAN do…" I muttered before following Yuri and Repede, along with Estelle.

_~x~_

_**Skit: Quite a Scene**_

_Estelle: We made quite a scene, didn't we? I was so worried those knights noticed us…_

_Yuri: I told you we couldn't stand out._

_Estelle: You were the one who just jumped._

_Yuri: I can't just look away when monsters are attack someone right in front of me, right?_

_Erica: Yeah; if we just sat there and do nothing… I'd lose a lot of sleep from the guilt eating up at me. I don't want to see people grieving over their lost loved ones. *solemn look* It makes my heart ache seeing that…_

_Estelle: Yes, I guess you're right. *giggles*_

_Yuri: What's so funny?_

_Estelle: I'm sorry, it's what you said last Yuri. That sounded just like the way Flynn described you is all._

_Yuri: *curious* And that is…?_

_Estelle: He often said that you could never turn a blind eye when someone near you was suffering._

_Yuri: *blushes and didn't notice Erica's surprised look* Yeah, well, next time you see him, you tell him that I said he's the same way._

_Estelle: *giggles* I'll do that._

_Erica: *smiles softly* (thinking) _Wow, Yuri being modest? I guess he isn't used to a lot of praises from a lot of people.

_~x~_

_**Skit: Such Weirdoes**_

_Erica: *giggles*_

_Yuri: What's with you all of a sudden?_

_Erica: I was thinking about what you said to Estelle earlier. You really are a nice person Yuri._

_Yuri: I'm not nice._

_Erica: Hey, don't deny it, dude. I mean, sure you get on the knights and nobles' nerves; but after what I've been through, I'd rather hang out with people like me than with them._

_Yuri: People like you eh?_

_Erica: *blushes* You know what I mean! I mean people who are of the same class as me!_

_Yuri: What class are you?_

_Erica: Middle; but my parents had to work to get money to put food on the table and such. I've already told you that at the castle._

_Yuri: Yeah, I remember. I was kinda thinking of the people who are a bit…weird; like you._

_Erica: One of the many; a GOOD kind of weird._

_Yuri: *looks at her weirdly* …You really are a weird woman._

_Erica: I think we're all a bunch of weirdoes – an ex-knight, a noblewoman, a dog and a 'sky woman'. We're an exotic bunch all things considered._

_Yuri: …I can't believe I'm having this conversation with you._

_Erica: Friends have weird conversations. Believe me._

_~x~_

"Man, it sure didn't take long for them to settle," Yuri let out, looking around the hold as a lot of people are unpacking their wagons.

After we had gotten a lot of 'thank you's, handshakes and praises as we walked around, the three of us noticed the people in the hold unpacking their things.

"Well…it seems pretty understandable," I said, looking around, "With the monsters out there, it'll probably take a while until people can cross the gates again."

And who knows how long that'll be. For all we know, it'll take days, weeks or even months… We don't have that kind of time.

I was brought out of my thoughts when we were approached by two people-

My eyes stared at the rather large breasts shown from the open part of the shirt. I glanced down at my own chest, looking over my B-cup sized boobs. _'No fair…'_ I moaned as I did toon tears in my head.

"You there," Kaufman's voice brought me back to reality, "how about coming to work for me? You'll be paid, of course." She held up a bag filled with Gald to prove that she's serious.

Yuri just ignored the woman…so I kinda had to take the role. "Um…thanks but, no thanks ma'am," I said, shaking my head, "We're kinda busy right now."

"Oh, and what's that?" She asked, lowering the bag of Gald.

"Isn't it bad manners to not introduce yourself before asking other people for questions?" Yuri spoke up, looking over at the red head with a raised brow.

"Hey, watch your mouth-!" The female guildsman held out her hand to stop her subordinate.

"You're just as charming as I expected," Kaufman smiled a little; "I'm Kaufman of the merchants' guild Fortune's Market. We handle everything from trade to distribution."

"Um, okay, uh, Ms. Kaufman," I began, half tempted to call her by her first name Mary (IF it is her real name); but a part of me wanted to call people by their last names. It's kinda drilled into me since I was young, "but like I said, we're kinda in a-"

Another tremor shook the area, and I nearly fell to the ground. "Holy shit," I let out, looking back at the gates in shock, "they're still doing that?"

"Indeed," I turned back to Kaufman who nodded to confirm it. "I know that you are in a hurry, but, you see, I'm in quite a tight spot. It's all thanks to the monsters outside of the Hold."

"The leader of the pack of monsters is the Lord of the Plains," Kaufman's subordinate added.

"You mean that huge monster is the leader?" Yuri asked in surprise. "Man, there are some amazing things out there."

Estelle took the time to ask, "Do you know if there's a way to cross the plains? We're really in a hurry."

Kaufman let out a thoughtful hum, bowing her head. "I'm afraid you will have to wait for the Lord of the Plains to leave."

"…And how long would that be, ma'am?" I asked, dreading the answer.

"It all depends." Fuck.

"Huh, I guess there's no point in getting worked up over it." Yuri's response got Estelle to look over at him in shock.

"But I can't afford to just sit and wait!" She exclaimed, looking anxious. "I'm going to get a second opinion!"

"Wait- Estelle!" I called out belatedly, but the girl had already taken off with Repede following after her. I let out a groan; that princess is going make my hair go grey at this rate. I looked over at Yuri. "I'll keep an eye on her…" I said, like I was a reluctant babysitter, then took off after the pinkette.

…Though, after a few minutes, I found myself lost. _Again!_

If this was an anime, my eye lid would've been twitching badly. "How is it possible to lose someone who wears _white_ with _pink_ hair?"

Seriously, it's ridiculous! If this place was a mall, I would've lost someone in an instant; it happened to me a couple of times-

I smacked myself. "Oh, duh, I know where she is."

I then made my way over to the tents (I had to be careful not to get near the Hunting Blades and the knights squabbling).

It actually didn't take me long to find the girl talking to a couple of people before a knight waved her off. When they're out of side, the girl stood there for a few moments before she fell to her knees.

After seeing that, I walked over to the girl. "You okay Estelle?" I asked, standing next to her.

The girl looked startled, looking over at me. "Oh, Erica," she said, "Y-You startled me."

"Sorry," I said, moving over to sit beside her (cross legged), "So, why the long face? You find any info?"

She shook her head dejectedly. "No…everyone says that it's better to wait for the Lord of the Plains to leave…" Her hands clenched over her lap. "Halure is just up ahead. And, if anything happens to him while I'm just dallying here…"

I nodded. "You're worried about him, aren't you?"

She nodded. "Flynn is the only friend I had in the castle," she told me, "He was the only one willing to speak to me when he started to live at the castle."

Ah. "I guess you two must have been really lonely."

"It was lonely," she agreed, "But…I like hearing stories from him; about his childhood and of his friend. I only heard about Yuri when Flynn came to the capitol in Captain Fedrock's place for the 10th anniversary of the Great War."

I looked over at Estelle, seeing a sort of smile on her face. "The two of them seemed to get into a lot of trouble when they were kids," she explained, "But the two of them shared a lot of things together. Flynn told me that he and his family took Yuri in when he was found injured. After he was nursed back to health, the two of them became good friends."

"Of course, there are some cases where Flynn is, um, not readily handling Yuri's mischief," she continued, "but I can tell that Flynn must have been worried about Yuri."

…I guess loneliness draws people together. Yuri was alone for as long as he could remember – the fact that the only person he could depend on is himself drilled into him first thing, in order for him to survive. Meeting Flynn might've made him happy to have someone to be around. Perhaps the same could be said with Estelle.

I looked back at the sky. "Well, it's natural for friends to argue," I said, "Real friends make up with each other real quick, though. I guess it depends on what the argument was about."

"…Do you have friends, Erica?" I looked over at Estelle in surprise, seeing her looking over at me. It's an innocent question, she was just curious.

"…" I looked back up at the sky. "I…don't have a lot of friends. Any person I tried to open up to, wanting to be friends with them, they would tease me for my 'oddness', and would often pick on me. The friends I do have are living far away now…"

I…could only understand simple things; it takes a while for me to understand complex things. By the time my mind managed to catch up, the damage was already done. Growing up, kids around my age would pick on me, because I was a bit…odd. At times, I kinda wish that I was someone else; but now I knew better to learn that being myself is a lot better than being a copy of someone else. But because of the teasing, I began to ignore everything around me, especially other people.

Back when I was in school, lot of people idolizes my brother, because he's athletic and cool. But once I entered high school and they realized that I'm his young sister, they tried to befriend me…but it was already too late when they found out.

That's…kinda the source of me being anti-social. I wanted to fit in…but, I figured, what's the point in trying to do that if people would just reject you?

I took a deep breath, trying to get rid of the knot forming in my chest, shifting my legs so that I could put them near my chest, putting my arms over the knees. "So…I don't really blame you guys for thinking that I'm weird. To me, that part of me is normal; what makes me ME."

A moment of silence went by, as I just stared straight ahead.

"Well…_I_ don't think you're weird," Estelle told me, and I just glanced at her with my peripheral vision (seeing her shaking her head). "I think it's rather unique to have something that defines who you are. A lot of people do."

"…Really?" Was my dry response.

But the princess continued, undeterred. "A lot of people have something that makes them themselves; something that a lot of people have that makes them unique. You have your own way of being unique as does Yuri and Flynn. That sort of uniqueness is what got me and Flynn to be friends with each other. So," here she grinned, "I'm really happy to have you as my friend Erica. It's nice to have someone the same age as I am."

I just stared at her. That was…wow, I can't believe I heard Estelle – of all people – give me that kind of talk. I…I don't know why but…I feel warm again. I think…I think it was from the feeling of having someone accept me for who I am. But…

"Um…Estelle," I began, "I'm 22."

It took a moment for it to sink in and Estelle looked over me in shock. "You are? But…you don't-"

I let out a chuckle. "It's okay, Estelle," I told her, waving my hand a little, "I get that a lot."

Yeah, a lot of people often confuse me for an 18 year old because, well, I act like an 18 year old. I have my part-Asian blood to blame, but oh well.

I decided to change the subject. "But, don't worry Estelle," I told her, "I'm sure we'll find another way to get to Halure. Our answers may lie with-"

"There you guys are."

"Speak of the devil," I said when we turned to look over at Yuri who walked down to where we're at.

"What are you guys doing?" he asked, raising his brow at us.

"Eh, just having some girl talk," I said, shrugging a little. "And resting a little."

"Really now?" Yuri looked amused, before he began to turn. "That's a shame. I guess I'll just go the other way with Repede."

Yay! Yuri got the info from Kaufman!

I had to suppress a grin at the surprised look Estelle made. "What?! How did you…?"

I stood up and dusted myself off. "That's great," I said, "I think I'd die of boredom if I had to wait around for the monsters to leave."

"…You will?"

Me and Yuri sighed at the princess' naïve-ness. "Again, it's an expression Estelle."

"Oh."

"Alright-y, time ta go!" I exclaimed as I began to trot up the slope.

"Ah! Wait for me!" I heard Estelle exclaim behind me, followed by Yuri's chuckle.

Feeling the gratitude form the people, and having friends around me…it feels good.

But the knot returned to my chest. …Would they still want to be my friends if they found out the truth? Of where I came from, and of…_that_?

I tried to shove that down as much as I could as we made our way to the Quoi Woods.

_~x~_

_**Skit: Guilds**_

_Yuri: That woman that gave us directions, she said she was in a guild, right?_

_Estelle: That was Mrs. Kaufman, of Fortune's Market._

_Erica: *mutters* Wait, she's married?_

_Yuri: Man…giving up their rights as imperial citizens and just…living free._

_Estelle: Yuri, are you interested in the guilds?_

_Yuri: Interested? Nah, I've just never had much contact with them._

_Erica: You sure? What about your time in the Knights?_

_Yuri: …Okay, fine. So I met ONE guild, but I'm still a bit iffy with the rest. Back at the capital there weren't any gritty guild types who'd refuse the Knights' protection._

_Estelle: We may meet lots of people in guilds before we're done with our trip._

_Erica: That's a good point. Just as there are a lot of people, there are a lot of guilds that are different._

_Yuri: If that's true, then I'd hate to wonder if any of them are just as aggressive as that woman._

_Erica: …Yeah, that WOULD'VE been a sight to see…_

_~x~_

_**~o~**_

The whole time, he had kept his eyes on the humans he had encountered in the Hold. From what he had heard from Khroma, the girl in white is the Child of the Full Moon; and she is out of the castle, in a company of the young man in black.

But it was that brown haired woman he was focused on. He had never seen the type of clothes on her before.

He didn't think he had seen her before. What of the Entelexia? Do they know of her?

Duke isn't sure if that woman will pose a threat to Terca Lumireis or not, seeing her walking with the young man and the princess… but whatever that may be:

He had to keep an eye on both her AND the Child of the Full Moon.

* * *

**Hm…not sure if I had kept Duke's character in place, or not... You can obviously tell that I made a couple of changes to the events at Deidon Hold so that Erica /I would play a role.**

**Next up is the Quoi Woods! Leave a review please!**


	6. The Truth Comes Out, Earthling

Things are bound to get interesting.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Tales. Enough said.**

* * *

_~x~_

_**Skit: Watch and Learn**_

_Estelle: You look very good swinging a sword Yuri._

_Yuri: You're not bad yourself Estelle._

_Estelle: Really? My sword master used to scold me terribly…_

_Yuri: Well, I have to admit, I'd be surprised if you looked TOO natural._

_Estelle: I really don't like fighting…I don't like hurting people…_

_Yuri: How ladylike of you._

_Estelle: But…If I don't fight, I'll end up hurting myself. Right?_

_Yeah: Yeah, that's pretty much how it works._

_Estelle: I wish I could enjoy fighting like you do, Yuri…_

_Yuri: You think I enjoy this?_

_Estelle: Don't you? I mean, the way your eyes shine… That only happens when you're fighting._

_Yuri: O-Oh, really? …Wow, you're pretty observant._

_Estelle: Yes, I like watching people._

_~x~_

_**Skit: The Sad One?**_

_Erica: *humming Requiem of Spirit from Ocarina of Time* _

_Estelle: *comes in* Erica?_

_Erica: Huh? Oh, what is it?_

_Estelle: What was that song you just hummed?_

_Erica: Ah, it's a song that I heard once. It's a beautiful song when played on a type of flute._

_Estelle: Really? I'd like to hear that song one day._

_Erica: (thinking) _'I'm not sure if you'll be able to'.

_Estelle: It sounds like a sad melody… Sort of like you Erica._

_Erica: Huh?_

_Estelle: *didn't notice Yuri coming in* I was observing you for a while, Erica. And…well, at times, your eyes hold a type of pain that couldn't be explained. As if you knew something that we don't or some other matter that makes you sad._

_Erica: *gasps* … *leaves*_

_Estelle: Erica?_

_Yuri: (thinking) _'Just as I thought, she's hiding something…but what?'

_~x~_

It took us a while to get to our destination. We took down monsters that got in our path, and I learned a new move called 'Bubble Stalker'.

Back then, I tried to avoid as much monsters as I can…but I later realized that the party needed to get stronger to take down foes. So I began fighting enemies that I managed to run into.

But…now that I'm in Terca Lumireis, it's…different. For one, every enemy I took down made me slightly stronger. It's something that I've…uh, _felt_. It's an odd sensation, to tell the truth.

But I've only been fighting for two days. I know for a _fact_ that it takes a lot more to get stronger. I can't do it fast; otherwise, I might end up getting corrupted. It's probably best to just take it slow. The old saying goes: 'The slow and steady wins the race.' Which means: 'keep an eye on your goal and with hard work, you'll prevail'.

…I think.

Anyways, it's been a couple of hours (or is it a few minutes? I REALLY need a clock or something) since we've left Deidon Hold. …And my feet are beginning to hurt. Curse my flat feet! These boots don't have an arch support! After this, I'll probably need to buy more socks…and find a shoe maker to make a pair of boots for people with feet like mine.

With the sun beating down on us, I was kinda glad for the shade the woods provided…but once we got there, I had to rethink my thoughts. The woods are, for the lack of a better word, dark. The canopy of the trees looked so dense, that hardly any light had penetrated through the leaves.

A perfect place for monsters to hide…of any kind.

And I'm not the only one wary of the woods.

"A forest in a place like this can only mean… The Quoi Woods…?" Estelle muttered loud enough for the two of us to hear; and she sounded a tad bit afraid.

The two of us looked over at her. "Bingo," Yuri said, "You're just full of information, aren't you?"

"I read in a book once that a curse will fall upon anyone who enters the woods…"

…Okay, I could've sworn I heard something shift in the bushes beside me. Keep calm Erica…it was probably nothing…

"Ah, so _that_ must be the 'surprise'," Yuri said – you can hear the sarcasm _oozing_ from his voice.

"Uh…" I let out, looking around nervously. "Well…I-I'm sure it's nothing but a rumor."

"Really?" Crap, Yuri heard my stutter, "You sound pretty scared right there."

I jerked a little, then narrowed my eyes at him. "A-_Any_ person can get scared around here under normal circumstances."

Like that series called 'Pitch Black' – a game show more than anything – where a lot of people get terrified under complete darkness. Understandable, since you can't really see what's around you. People relied on their eyes more than anything – blind people have no need for sight; they can just hear and feel their surroundings.

"Anyways," I said, shaking myself a little, "can we just get to Halure now?" I don't wanna linger here any longer. I have no idea what lurks around these woods.

"Yeah, yeah," Yuri waved off my concern, then turned and walked into the woods. I made to follow-

I noticed Estelle standing in place, her hands over her lap with an apprehensive look on her face. Oh boy, she's one of those types that believe in superstitions…or maybe she's one of those that believe in everything they hear. Or something else, I don't know…

I tilted my head. "Estelle?"

Yuri seems to notice the problem. "Not going in?" He asked the pinkette. "That's fine by me, but what about Flynn?"

The girl jerked, and bowed her head. After a few moments, with her pursing her lips tightly, she looked up back at us and nodded. "…Okay, let's go…" she said and walked beside me.

I patted her shoulder, giving her a smile when she turned to look at me. "Let's conquer this place," I told her and the two of us followed the ex-Knight and dog duo into the woods.

_~x~_

_**Skit: The Curse as Estelle Knows It**_

_Estelle: Will this forest really get us to the other side of the Hold?_

_Yuri: If it doesn't, we'll just come back._

_Estelle: I can't help it from what I read in that book. I might get turned into a frog or a snake by the forest's curse._

_Yuri: It doesn't matter; if that happens, I'll take care of you._

_Estelle: *surprised* You'll…take care of me?_

_Yuri: Of course I would. Don't worry; I had pet frogs and snakes when I was a kid._

_Estelle: If YOU get turned into a frog or a snake, Yuri, I wouldn't have any idea what to feed you…_

_~x~_

_**Skit: No Such Thing**_

_Erica: You know; the whole 'curse' thing is just silly._

_Yuri: What makes you say that?_

_Erica: I think people only called it 'cursed' because of the fact that they're afraid of the unknown. That and because there are monsters in here, it seems to fuel that fear._

_Estelle: *confused look* But, why would people say such things like that?_

_Erica: Estelle, curses are nothing more than myth and superstitions; based on one's own personal fears. That, and the fact that people doesn't seem to come through here anymore seems plausible; you DID say that no one ever leaves the barriers anymore._

_Yuri: She has a point, Estelle. And the only ones who leave the barrier are Knights and the guildsmen. _

_Erica: Right. Basically, there are no such things as curses._

_Estelle: *unsure look* I still don't know…_

_~x~_

Okay…I think I can understand Eddy's hatred towards birds.

In case you are confused, I was referring to the time that on the show 'Ed, Edd, n' Eddy,' Eddy had just managed to retrieve the quarter found at the bottom of the vent…only for a bird to steal it. He encountered said bird again when they were trying to find a clubhouse to use as a scam; the bird was never seen again after that episode, as well as the birth of Eddy's hatred of birds.

Now…in order to explain _that_ part of the statement said above, as we wondered deep into the forest, we got attacked by monsters. Mainly, the Axe Beaks – the four of us could've taken them…but, well…

"OW! OW! OW! OW! OW!" That was me, getting myself pummeled by one of the Axe Beaks attacking me. To make matters worse, the others are kind of busy with the other two bird monsters (and Estelle was still scared of the 'curse' that might be around here) so none of them had come to my aid.

"OW! Stop it – ACK! – stop it you stupid – AGH!" I can't even form a sentence since it was using its legs to attack. The bird-thing than seemingly took flight into the air-

Oh, that DOES it!

I rolled out of the way when the bird tried to swoop in to finish me off and crashed onto the ground…and I tossed away the guns and I _screamed _as I tackled it.

Yeah, normally, I don't get mad. I _can't_ even _get_ mad…but, I dunno, since I was sick of the bird attacking me, I guess I just snapped.

I just beat the crap out of the thing with my fists, tearing off its feathers (ignoring its shrieks of pain) and beat its head against the ground…until it no longer moves. Panting, I slowly pushed myself up (staggering a little) and gave the carcass one more good kick. "I _hate_ birds…!" Caitlyn is right; birds _are_ evil!

With a huff, I turned around-

To see that the others had finished off the other two…and were staring at me in bewilderment; well, mostly Yuri – not sure with Repede, but Estelle just looked on in shock.

I narrowed my eyes. "What?"

"Uh…" Yuri just let out.

I rolled my eyes and gathered my guns, putting them in their hostlers. "Let's just go," I said, some of my anger leaving. Yeah, I don't stay angry for long, in case you didn't notice. "I don't want to run into any more birds."

"Um…" I looked over at Estelle, seeing her torn between coming near me (with my hands red with monster blood) or staying where she's at…before she slowly came over to me. "Please sit down," she said, "I got to heal you."

"Estelle-" I cut myself off when she gave me the _look._ I sighed. "Okay…" I relented, sitting down onto the ground.

Estelle knelt beside me and began charging up a First Aid. She really shouldn't do that; the girl will wear herself out at this rate if she had to heal because of what happened just now.

…And Estelle just healed me. I feel even worse now…

So I turned my head to her, saying, "You shouldn't have done that. I could've used the Gels to heal me."

"I know…" The pinkette said, "But, I just can't stand to see someone hurt in front of me."

Ugh. My anti-socialness _hurts_. I have no idea what to say to her.

"…Okay," I said, "I'll try not to get hurt _too_ much…" I just hope nothing worse happens… I thought as I wiped my bloodied hands onto the grass.

I spoke too soon, because as soon as I tried to stand up and walk away…I tripped over my feet. "Ow…"

"Are you okay? ?" The pinkette asked me as I pushed myself up.

"Yeah, I'm okay," I told her and checked myself. Okay, good, I didn't break any skin. "I'll just walk it off."

"But…"

"Don't worry," I assured her, "this happens to me all the time."

"…If it does, then it's a wonder that you're still in one piece," Yuri dryly said.

…Okay, from that, I better be careful not to trip when dealing with monsters. "Noted," I told him as I stood up again and dusted my pants off.

After that, everything was relatively normal as we walked deeper into the woods; well, as normal as it's ever going to get, if you know what I mean. The fiol- uh, the plant monsters (I forgot their names) weren't really much trouble; if you considered me kicking most of them away before firing at them. Yup, everything's going great.

…If you count that weird…humming sound that we all heard when we got to a wide area of the woods.

"Do you hear something?" Estelle asked, all of us having to stop.

"Yeah…" I muttered, rubbing my ear. Damn it sounds annoying… "What the hell is that?"

I noticed Repede's ear twitching as well, moving around to see where it's coming from.

"My feet feel cold all of a sudden…" Estelle muttered, before she gasped. "Oh no! Is this the curse?!"

Oi…she's still worried about that.

"What sort of curse is it supposed to be, anyway?" Yuri asked, raising his brow at the girl.

She immediately answered with a scared tone in her voice and a scared look: "The voices of corpses buried beneath the trees creep up and lure us to our doom…"

The two of us stared at her. Again.

"…Do you really believe that?" I asked in an incredulous tone.

"Um…"

"Oh, brother," Yuri shook his head at this.

"Must be one hell of a ghost story…" I muttered, looking around a bit.

…This area looks familiar.

"…What's that?" Estelle asked, pointing over at…something.

I gave a look to Yuri before heading over to where Estelle is pointing-

"Whoa…" I let out. Ah damn, how could I have forgotten about this? …And that humming noise seems louder around it for some reason. Is this blastia the source?

"A blastia?" Yuri let out, he and Repede having come towards me to see what I saw (I guess), "What's it doing in a place like this?"

I looked over it a little bit. "Well…whatever its purpose is, it looks pretty old." And it shows, the structure is covered in moss, vines…and the core is completely black. It must've been inactive for quite some time…

I noticed Yuri look over his shoulder, and noticed Estelle a couple of ways behind us, panting as she had a hand over her chest.

…Oh no.

"Let's take a break," Yuri suggested, seeing how exhausted the girl is.

…And it seems Estelle picked up on the stubbornness that Flynn (and maybe Yuri) seemed to have, shaking her head. "I-I'm alright," she assured us.

We're not convinced. "You don't sound alright," I said.

"No, really, I am," she insisted and walked to where we are. When she passed us, she noticed the blastia. "Huh? What's this?" She reached her hand out towards the core-

"Wait!" I exclaimed, trying to stop her-

The core suddenly shined and we all let out startled exclamations when we were temporally blind-

I can't breathe.

I was barely aware of myself falling to the ground; I can't feel anything, or even notice anything around me. All my mind can focus on was: I can't breathe.

_Why can't I breathe?!_

Terror filled my body when my mind processed this. What's happening to me?! I-I can't-!

I tried to talk, but I can't find my voice; it feels like I couldn't breathe, I can't feel any air entering my lungs. The only thing I could do right now is panic- No, I can't- Awh, I don't know what's going on- what's happening to me?!

Something touched me – I don't know what it is, but...I instinctively lashed out at it-

It gripped my wrist and I struggled to get it to release me- the thing then wrapped themselves around my arms, pinning me. My panic level went up and I tried to get myself out of the grip-

"Calm down!" A familiar voice yelled.

My body froze. A voice…okay, okay…if I'm hearing a voice right by my ear…then- okay, I'm-I'm alive. I'm alive…

"Okay, are you calm enough?" My brain was unable to register who the voice belonged to, but…it knows that it's familiar. Familiar means safe. I nodded. "All right, I gotta carry Estelle some place safe for now. Can you walk?"

Walk…Can I do that? I-I think so… I gave a slow nod.

"Alright." I was released and I nearly fell, but something held me up. I slowly straightened up and…I leaned against something to help me stand…and I heard, "C'mon, let's go."

I felt something nudge my leg – and heard a whine (also familiar) – assured me to go. Mindlessly, I walked to where I was nudged, holding myself close. Slowly but surely, I can feel the cool air entering my lungs.

But by the time I could feel my lungs, I fell to the ground and everything went dark.

_**~o~**_

_I was in battle. _

_I fired my guns at this shadowy figure, but he merely deflected my shots with a few quick swipes of his weapon; a long stick with a wicked, curved blade on one end of it – a scythe. The figure chuckled darkly. "Impressive…You've improved."_

_Improved? What? But my body continued to act, even with my mind processing this. Where is this? It was…a circular area, walls around us. Walls made of stone. By the time my brain registered this, I was crossing blades with the shadow figure, trying to break against his defense, but the shadow merely shoved me away._

"_Do you honestly believe that having more to your arsenal can defeat me?" The shadow taunted, and I neatly dodged the scythe swipes, but I held back a curse when it nicked my calf._

"_Why do you want to do that?" I found myself asking, firing more shots at the figure, "What reason do you have fighting me?!"_

_The figure just dodged my shots, moving his body fluidly, as if his body is like rubber. Then the body shifted into another form…one that's eerily familiar. The figure smirked as if to my horrified look. "You don't have a choice," the figure said – the voice is so familiar – as if mockingly._

_The figure suddenly rushed at me, and I instinctively blocked the blow with a sword against their sword. "You should be lucky you weren't affected," the figure continued during the sword fight, "Otherwise, you would never have a home to return to!"_

_We broke off-_

"_AH! !" I let out when I was nailed by a familiar projectile and rolled onto the ground. As I struggled to push myself up, the figure laughed. _

"_But how can you get back home, if you can't even help save the world?" The figure said, and something stamped onto my back, forcing me to the ground. "If you can't save the world, how can you save yourself?" I held back a grunt of pain when the figure rubbed their foot onto my back._

_I was too damn confused; my confusion overrode everything else. Grunting, I turned my head to look up at the figure. "What…What are you talking about? What do you mean by 'save myself'?"_

…_My eyes widen in horror when I got a good look at the figure. And I never imagined that a terrible smirk…would appear on _my_ face, seeing the look on my face._

"_Wouldn't you like to know?" She said, jumping off of me and kicked me up, and a yelp escaped my mouth-_

"_So what will it be?!" She exclaimed and I felt many slashes onto me continuing with: "Can you really save this world?! Its people?! Even yourself?!" _

_I landed harshly on the ground, but I saw the shadow holding both guns out, a ball of energy forming at the tips. "Answer me, Erica Tawny Helms!" A large energy beam came forth, and I screamed as it consumed me…_

I let out a gasp, snapping my eyes open and bolting up. Where am I?! Where-?

I gasped and patted myself. I sighed in relief. "Just a dream…" I muttered, running a hand through my hair (why is my hair down? Did I take my hair-bow out or something?), hearing the trees rustle above me-

Wait, what?

I looked up, and found a canopy of leaves above me. It…honestly took me a moment to remember where I'm at.

"…Darn," I let out, hanging my head. I looked around for a moment to see where I'm at. Looks like we're still in the Quoi Woods…and there's Estelle lying on the ground, her head on Repede's side; looks like she's still out of it-

Wait.

'…_What the hell just happened?'_ I asked myself, thinking back when Estelle touched that blastia. I…honestly have no idea what the hell happened back there. I do know that something…happened. I just can't remember what it was. And what the hell was that dream about? It was as if…my head was trying to tell me something…or something else entirely.

Sometimes, I'd often get a feeling I've seen…something before, later relating it to my dreams- if _that_ ever made sense. I'd get a feeling of déjà vu whenever I encounter something I thought is familiar…but my dreams have always been weird. And I can never remember what most of them are about…unless they scare the hell out of me. Like the time that I had a dream that I was randomly in a mall, with…what looked like a drill Sargent, my mom is somewhere in there and at around the end…I saw what looked like Slasher Necromorph from Dead Space. Scared the hell out of me, it did, and I literally got up to check on her.

Yeah, it's quite memorable-

I heard something click shut before I heard: "You okay?"

"Huh?" I let out, turning to the source. Yuri had just gotten up and strolled over to Estelle, my eyes on him. "Uh…I guess…What exactly happened?"

The dark haired man looked over at me, his brow raised a little as if he was surprised. "You don't remember?"

"Uh…" I droned out, tilting my head and looked to the ground. "Not really…" I looked back over to him, seeing that his back was turned to me as he checked on Estelle. "What exactly happened anyway?"

Yuri was silent for a few moments; perhaps he's still busy with checking to see if Estelle is alright-

"When the blastia lit up, you fell to the ground, gasping for breath at the same time Estelle went down," my eyes went wide when Yuri finally answered. I looked over at him in shock. What…? "You looked pretty panicked, holding yourself like that. You tried to attack me when I tried to pick you up; you calmed down pretty quick when I had to yell."

Wait…what?

That- That really happened? I-

Memories of what happened came flooding back. Oh. "Aw man…" I muttered.

"Sounds like you remembered," Yuri said – huh, he can hear me pretty well; but maybe that's because me and Estelle were pretty close to each other.

I nodded absently. "Yeah, I guess I-" A sudden thought hit me, and my eyes went wide again. "Oh shoot! I didn't accidentally hit you, did I?"

"Nah," he waved it off, standing up and moving away from Estelle. "You didn't really hit me hard. Your punch is pretty pathetic you know."

"…I get that a lot," I muttered, looking at the ground with an annoyed look. My arm strength is so pathetic that I can't even punch my sister, brother and dad on the arm hard enough; I can carry a few heavy things but…punching is just not my forte. I shook my head, sighing through my nose. "At least I didn't hurt you too badly; I guess that's good."

Yuri merely grunted…then he made his way over to me and sat down next to me. I looked over at him, blinking. "What? What is it?" I asked.

He didn't say anything at first…then he reached into his shirt and pulled something out. "Here," he said, as I looked at what he was handing me-

My eyes went wide. What?

What? How did-?

"Seems like you know what it is." I jerked and looked up at Yuri in shock-

He was watching me. He was watching me and- oh god, he saw my expression!

His eyes narrowed a little at the expression I made. "You've got some explaining to do," he said, waving the small red rectangular object a little.

My 3DS; he had a hold of my 3DS! Oh shit, oh shit, and ooooohhh shit!

_**~o~**_

Through his twenty-one years of his life, he had seen a lot of things in his life; experienced most things no one has gone through. Like the time he had spent with the knights back a few months.

But the past two days he spent, when the aque blastia core was first stolen, he honestly didn't expect this to happen.

Like the strange girl – wearing clothes he hadn't seen before, one of which having strange symbols resembling letters on the front – that fell from the sky, landing on the Tweedles when he was about to finish the little scuffle they started.

He felt that he had already figured Estelle out…but this girl is a bit…odd.

To be honest, he had been searching through her purse – that also had strange lettering on the small tab – to find some Gels to heal whatever Estelle and Erica might've had from the strange flash of light from the blastia when they were a good distance away…when he stumbled across that strange red object and a couple of small…square things found in the side pocket. And the other silver squared thing attacked to some small thin black ropes and things at the end. He decided to look over the red object first.

There was a small hole at the bottom – at least he _thinks_ it's the bottom – but he didn't mess with it; and a couple of symbols he never saw before, and the 'back' had some more of that strange lettering. Upon further investigation, he found that the thing somewhat opens up, with some buttons and a small flat stick. He would've looked over it some more when the brunette suddenly bolted up. At the moment, he wondered how a person like her has these strange things in her purse, and most of the things she has that have strange symbols on them. He isn't sure if she's a friend or foe.

Since Estelle is still out of it, he figured that he would get some answers from the so called 'sky woman'.

The reactions she made when he showed her the red object immediately put him on edge.

"Um…uh…" The brunette let out, looking at the object, at him, at the object, at him…then shook her head. "That's…a small portable blastia I have."

"Really?" He questioned, looking over the small rectangle object in his hand. "If it is a blastia, then what's with these symbols on the back? Never seen them before in my life." He may not enjoy reading, but he knows well enough that he had never seen symbols like these before.

He shifted his grey eyes at her, seeing her jerk. "Um…well-"

"Speaking of which," he cut her off, "Didn't one of your other clothes have the same strange symbols on the front, like this? And that little tab on your purse."

"Not only that," he continued, "But you seemed to act funny during our 'time' together. You've never been in battle, you said some weird things…especially your expression when Estelle handed you that book about Healing Artes."

Yuri watched the girl…her dark eyes seemed to have gone wide, and her face looked a bit pale. Her mouth opened and closed, as if she was trying to find the words to say. She seemed to have made a grimace and shifted her gaze away. "Yuri…I…" She trailed off.

Silence went by between them for a few moments.

He let out an aggravated sigh. "Dammit Erica," he said – he didn't even see her jump in shock – turning his gaze away from her, "What I'm asking is the truth. Is it so hard to tell me?"

"Yuri…!"

"You suddenly fell from the sky and decided to join us," Yuri spoke up, giving her a sharp look (that she flinched away from), "You looked as if you couldn't understand our writing, and haven't seen monsters or been into battle. What I'm asking is who are you, and where did you really come from, _Erica Helms_? Is it really so hard to tell the truth?"

After he spoke, she narrowed her own eyes at him. "It isn't as easy as you think it is, _Yuri Lowell_," she spat, "There are some things that shouldn't be known."

"And what's that?" He shot back, "Is there more to what you really want? Do you say all of that to wait for us to drop our guard and kill us? Is that it?"

"_NO!_" Her sudden shout made him jump in surprise. "It's not like that! It…it's…not…" She spoke slowly, her shoulders slumping.

An uncomfortable silence went by them, and Yuri slowly eased himself down. "…Okay," he let out, "if it isn't any of that, then what is it?"

She opened her mouth- then sighed. "It…It's complicated," she said.

"It probably isn't as crazy as most of the things I've heard," he told her, "For all we know, you're probably from another planet."

He meant for that to be a joke…the dark haired male didn't expect her to jerk at that. He blinked; why would she-?

And then it hits him.

"…You're really from another planet, aren't you," he stated, looking over at him in bewilderment.

"…I…" She let out, and adverted her gaze.

Ah. So that explains it.

He let out a sigh. "If it's too complicated, you don't have to tell me," he told her.

"…No."

He let out a grunt, looking over at her, seeing her putting some of her hair behind her ear. "I…" She sighed, "Why are you asking me this anyway?"

He looked over at her for a few moments, then looked over at Repede and Estelle, the canine looking over them. "…I was wondering if I could trust you," he answered.

She let out a sigh. "I see…" He felt something knock onto his arm, and he turned his head, seeing her dark eyes on him. "Yeah…you're right. You have the right to know the truth," she said, looking over at the white clad girl.

He merely waited on her, as she stared at Estelle for a few moments…then sighed. "…I'm from Earth."

He blinked. "'Earth'?" He repeated. He looked at the ground for a moment, then back at her. "As in…an actual place called 'Earth' and not the element?"

"Yeah," she nodded, "It's a planet completely different from this world. It's…where I came from; not here. Not Terca Lumireis."

…He didn't think he heard people talking about the name of the world when she's around. On the other hand, he wasn't around her much to know some more.

He just nodded. "Okay, how different?"

"For starters," she looked around their area for something before setting her eyes on his bodhi blastia. She grabbed hold of it and lifted up his left hand. "We don't have things like this, the blastia as you people called them."

"You guys don't have any blastia?" He asked, surprised.

"Nope." She then gestured over to the small red object in his hand. "We have things like the object you have in your hand. It's an electronic called a 3DS."

"…Huh," he let out. "Anything else you guys don't have?"

She tilted her head a little and looked up at the canopy above them. "Well…I guess you can say that technology is more advanced than over here," she said, "But we don't have magic or anything like you guys can do here."

"You don't?" He raised his brow at this, "If you guys don't have blastia, then how do you defend the cities from monsters and such?"

"About that, there aren't any monsters where I come from," he blinked at the answer, but she continued with, "the closest we have, I guess are animals that looked…similar to the monsters. Not really like them, if you get what I mean."

"Well, are the cities over there protected?"

She merely shook her head. "Animals don't really come wondering into a town or village unless they felt threatened; they think their territory is in danger or searching for food. Other than that, it's okay, I guess."

He grunted, shaking his head. "Well, I guess it's pretty peaceful over there."

She made a fake laugh, and he looked over at her, seeing her shake her head a bit. "Yeeeaahh- no, not really," she said. "It's still pretty bad over at Earth. People still suffer from poverty, wars, crimes and the like. Almost everyone is getting addicted to technology, and they're always out to get the latest thing. Like the Wii U."

"…Am I supposed to know what that is?" He asked blandly. He mildly wondered what the hell a 'Wii U' is.

"Nah, not really," she waved her hand at that, "It's not really important."

"…If you're from there, that Earth place, then how did you get here?" He asked, setting the…3DS down. "Were you really taken from your home?"

"Yeah," she nodded, "That part is true. My mom and sister were home at the time…they didn't even realize that I'm gone."

"So, wait," he asked, looking over at her, "So this guy just kidnapped you, just like that?"

"The guy appeared on the TV screen, grabbed me and dragged me through- Uh, I'll tell you what a 'TV' is later," she added quickly, as if to his blink at the new word. She bowed her head, "I'm not even sure if they DID know I was gone or…" she sighed, "I don't really know…"

"…So the real reason why you went with us was because wanted to find a way home?" He guessed.

"…Yeah, that's half of it…" She nodded. "I was being honest in helping you get the core back, though."

"You don't really have to, you know."

She shook her head. "I _wanted_ to, though," she said, "I already knew that finding a way home isn't going to be easy…but, I have plenty of time I guess…"

He just nodded. "All right then."

"…I'm sorry."

"For what?" He asked, looking over her weirdly.

"I…I wanted to tell you the truth earlier…" She explained, "It's just…"

"…Yeah. I'd probably think you were crazy if you just told us right off the bat."

"Exactly."

He glanced over at the small electronic. He picked it up and handed it to her. "Thanks…" she said, taking it from her.

"To be honest, I was finding some Gels you've…pilfered from the knights to heal you guys," he said.

"Hey, they didn't seem like they were going to use them!" she let out in indignation.

She let out a sigh through her nose, shaking her head. "Anyways," she let out, "What's the plan?"

At that, he looked up at the canopy. "Well, it's getting dark," he said, "Going through the woods like these is dangerous, especially since we're away from civilization right now."

"Huh…" She let out, "So, we're camping out here for tonight?"

"For tonight, yeah," he confirmed and looked over at her, "Is that alright with you?"

She just stared at him then looked up as if in wonder. "…I never camped before…" she muttered to herself.

He raised a brow at this, but shook his head. "That okay with you?"

"Huh? Oh," she shook her head a little and nodded. "Yeah, I can understand the logic; we won't be able to get to Halure the way we are right now…"

"Yeah," he looked around the area a little then back at her. "Think you can get the firewood?"

"Sure," she said as she stood up, "I can at least do that." She paused a little, then looked over at him. "So…are we good?"

"For now, yeah," he shrugged.

"…Can I ask you something?"

"And that is…?"

"Can you keep this from Estelle?"

He looked over at her, then at the sleeping healer. "…I'm not the one who should tell her, you know," he told her, "The only person who can is you."

"…I know…" She muttered. "I'll tell her when I'm comfortable; is that alright with you?"

"I'm not the one you should ask to help decide on," he said, "Use your own judgment every once in a while."

She looked over at him in surprise. Then she let out a soft chuckle and shook her head. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

The brunette went over to where she had been lying on and gathered her bodhi blastia, and gun belt, putting her 3DS up. When she had them on, she turned to him. "I'll be back in a jiffy," she told him before she walked off to somewhere.

Once she was out of sight, he and Repede gave each other a look. "She really is a weird person," he said, then looked back at where Erica was.

'…_Although, I'm still getting a feeling that she's hiding something…'_ He thought, bowing his head a little.

Well, he couldn't ask her anytime soon after what he heard. Still, another planet? If that's true, then…no, wait, he couldn't make assumptions right now.

He'll have to wait and see.

_**~o~**_

My mind was in a haze as I walked through the bushes, to search for firewood.

It was…damn, I really didn't expect Yuri to find out about me being from Earth so early in our adventure. Geez, I really am careless…

On the other hand, I didn't think something like this wouldn't happen; me going down the same time as Estelle and probably scaring the hell out of him.

Explaining about Earth is one thing but…telling him about this world being a game is another thing entirely; again, I can't do that to him or the others when we meet up with them later on. I gotta be more careful next time…

Right. Firewood.

It took me a while, but I managed to find some decent pieces of wood and a few large stones (using my coat to carry them) and headed back to where Yuri and the others are. …Well, at least Yuri could still trust me…but would he still do when I tell him the full truth?

I shook my head. It's still too early to think about that; I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

I managed to get to the clearing when I heard, "…I'm alright."

I looked over at Estelle, who was rubbing her head a little. "Hey, you're awake," I said, seeing my coat down next to them.

"Oh, Erica," the pinkette let out in surprise, "I didn't know you were there."

I just shrugged, squatting down to open my coat to put the wood and stone onto the ground. "Its fine," I said, "I just got back from collecting firewood."

"Oh, I see…" She let out. "What happened to me…?"

"You just fell over all of a sudden," Yuri told her, "Don't you remember?"

"Perhaps it was the aer that made me dizzy," Estelle said and I jerked.

Oh yeah…so then…

I looked over at Yuri, seeing him looking at me as well. Seems he came to the same conclusion as well. I mouthed, 'Later…'

He just looked back over at Estelle. "Aer. That's sort of like the fuel that powers the blastia, right?" He asked, "I heard that even though we can't see it, it's scattered through the atmosphere."

…There's actually more to aer than that, buddy. But I didn't voice it, turning to face them.

"Yes, that's aer," she nodded. "I read once that dense aer can have negative effects on people."

"…Maybe that's what started that silly rumor about the curse," I said, sitting down.

"Yeah, I was thinking the same," Yuri said. Estelle began to sit up, and he told her, "Hey, you only just woke up. You should rest a bit more."

"But I can't," she said, "If we don't catch up with Flynn soon…"

"Estelle," I cut her off, getting her to look at me, "It's almost night. We probably won't get out the woods in the dark; especially if there are monsters here that are nocturnal hunters."

"Yeah," Yuri piped in, "And what if you collapse again, and this time you're out for the whole night?"

Seeing the logic the two of us gave out, she slumped over a bit in defeat. "…You're right. I'm sorry," she said, sitting back down.

"Welp," I said, clapping my hands together, "Time to set up camp! Do we have any flint or something to start a fire?" Yuri just handed me some.

Me and Yuri spent the next few minutes setting up the small camp, with Repede keeping a look out. Apparently, the other bag that Estelle was carrying had cooking supplies and other camp sets (besides a tent). The people of the Lower Quarter are so…generous…

And it's a very good thing that Tyler taught me how to build a fire back then. I kinda had to, just in case he couldn't do his job to watching the fire to the furnace at home. But he and Dad are masters of making the fire hot.

…Although I kinda got a weird look from Yuri when I did a small cheer after I managed to get the fire going.

It was when Yuri was making dinner (getting stunned look from Estelle that the dark haired male can cook) that Estelle asked, "Aren't' you worried at all that Flynn is in danger?"

"Huh?" I was keeping an eye on the boiled eggs while Yuri was preparing the bread.

"Does it look that way?" Yuri asked, raising his brow at her.

"Well…yes," she nodded.

"Honestly, I'm not worried about him," he said, shrugging, "He's always managed to take care of himself."

"…It sounds as if you believe in him," I said, looking back at the eggs.

"Yeah, I guess you can say that," Yuri said, "But, it's the guys who are after him I feel sorry for."

"What do you mean?" Estelle asked.

"Ever since we were kids, I've never been able to beat Flynn at anything," Yuri explained with a sigh. "Swords, racing, whatever; after he'd won, he'd always have the nerve to say, 'You all right, Yuri?'"

I thought back to the optional battle between Yuri and Flynn much later in the game, when Aurnion was in the process of being built. Yuri managed to defeat his childhood friend, after they argued why Yuri won't take credit for the things he had done.

I made a soft smile, and said, "Hey, I'm sure that one day you'll be able to beat him." I looked over at him. "I guess Flynn is also waiting for the day that you'll beat him too."

He made a grunt at that. "Right."

"That must be nice…" Estelle let out, "I've never had anyone like that in my life."

"You can count yourself lucky," Yuri said.

I made a small grunt and looked back at the eggs-

"AH!" I let out, seeing that the water is boiling and nearly gone, "I need water!" I exclaimed as I took the pot with the eggs in it and put it away from the fire (with my purple jacket) and I dumped the bucket filled with cold water into it (there was a lake nearby, so we used it).

After the eggs cooled down, and the two of us peeled them, Yuri quickly made some egg salad.

…I never had egg salad.

"Well, dinner's ready," Yuri announced, the egg salad sandwiches on the small handkerchief before us.

"Thank you for the meal."

"Thanks," Estelle and I said (respectively) taking a piece.

"It wasn't anything special," Yuri shrugged, as Estelle took a bite out of her sandwich.

"_Sandvich and me going to beat your ass,"_ was what the Heavy sang; playing in my head.

"…What?"

"Huh?" I let out, looking over at Yuri in surprise, seeing him giving me a weird look.

"What was that look you made?" Yuri asked.

"…Oh," I said, "A weird thought went through my head; that's all."

…I really shouldn't watch YouTube videos about that anymore; especially those revolving around Team Fortress 2.

Anyways, I took a bite out of my sandvich- err, sandwich.

…

'_Hey, this isn't bad…'_ I thought, eating my sandwich.

I guess I zoned out, grabbing a couple more pieces of sandwich, when I heard Estelle say, "I'm not sure I'd be able to get that good at cooking."

"Well, it come more naturally to some people than others," Yuri said, "Just because you have a recipe, doesn't mean it'll always turn out like you think."

"Really? So you can mess it up…?" Estelle let out in surprise.

"Well, you usually taste your food while cooking…but some people don't," Yuri explained.

Ah, he must've been thinking about Flynn. Heh, poor Yuri.

...now I'm not sure if I wanted to eat Flynn's cooking.

"Tasting?" Estelle repeated.

"You know, like when cooks taste the food they make?" Yuri asked, as if it was something everyone should know. Then he shook his head and said, "Well, you're a sheltered little princess who's lived her life in a castle. It's only normal."

Estelle went silent for a moment, then said, "A sheltered little princess…yes, I suppose so."

Our dinner went on in silence. Then came the matter of…

"Wait a minute," I began, shaking my head at what Yuri said, "Are you sure it's alright? What if-?"

"Don't worry about it," Yuri began, grabbing the bucket and moved over to the fire pit. "I'm pretty sure we'll be safe around here. But, if you're concerned, we'll have Repede take watch."

"But…"

"Just calm down," he said, dumping the water and putting out the fire. "Me and Flynn did this once, and we're okay."

…It was that one time thing, I mentally grumbled, remembering that particular scene around the beginning of the First Strike movie. "…Okay," I muttered, "I'll take your word for it…"

I took the bodhi blastia out of my hair, my glasses off and my coat, placing the blastia and glasses on top of my folded coat and (using my purple jacket as a cover) lied onto the blanket on the ground, using my bag as a pillow.

I…okay, I'm one of the people that had to sleep with sound around me (we had a fan in our room, mostly used to cool us down) so…I was kinda uneasy to sleep right away.

Not only that, but I'm not really convinced we're going to sleep through the night unscathed. I took an uneasy breath through my nose to try to calm myself and closed my eyes. Hopefully, I'll fall asleep before I know it…

* * *

**So…Yuri knows the truth about where Erica/I come/came from. But she/I still haven't told him EVERYTHING…**

**Karol and Halure coming up next! Leave a review guys!**


	7. Enter the 'Ace', Karol!

Yadadada Dodadadadada… here's the next chapter.

**Disclaimer: DON'T SUE ME, I NEVER OWNED THE TALES SERIES! !**

* * *

…ugh…cold.

I grunted a little, pulling a little at my blanket. A little of the blanket slipped off of my back.

"Hm…?" I let out and blinked my eyes open.

Bushes and grass meet my eyes. Once more, it took me a few moments to remember where I am. I sighed. "I'll never get used to this…" I muttered, pushing myself up.

'_Okay…nothing bloody and gory around here…'_ I thought, looking around once I put my glasses on. Everything looks normal around our little 'campsite'. Estelle is sleeping peacefully on top of the blanket, curled up on her side. Repede is also curled up in a ball, the pipe he had in his mouth lying beside his head. …And Yuri was spread out on his blanket, with a bit of drool at the bottom of his mouth, snoring.

Huh, looks like Yuri was right…or is that just a fluke? Well, either way, I survived my first night out in the woods…on a different world. I looked up at the canopy, trying to see the sky through the breaks in the trees.

…Is it _that_ early? The sky looked like it was around… 6-ish in the morning…? Huh. Around the time Caitlyn usually wakes me up to get ready for our day in college. Urgh…I SERIOUSLY needed a clock…

Well, since I'm up, I might as well do…something. I can't make breakfast; I really can't be quiet when I wanted to. I'm afraid that I'll wake up the others from the noise that I'll make – I'm not a ninja like Yuri. I can't even walk through my house quietly since I ended up waking my family up.

Can't just lie back down and go back to sleep – I'll probably get woke up by Yuri…or even Repede. I shuddered. With my luck, Repede might _literally_ bite my face off. I shook my head and looked around a little. My eyes landed on the bag that I've used as a pillow last night.

…Maybe I should try to decipher the language of Terca Lumireis. I thought I've figured out how to read it a while back – they don't look any different from the English print; they just looked…fancier. I kinda…move the letters about until they look familiar.

…I seriously hoped it's that easy.

Glancing around, I put my hair into a ponytail (I needed to get a brush soon), placed my coat on and pulled the book on Healing Artes out, leaving the rest of my things unattended. …To be safe, I put my purse into my bag – it was one thing with Yuri looking through it, I don't want anyone else to look through it, like Estelle, Karol or even Rita-

I paused when the thought hit me. Oh man, that's right. Rita…pretty soon, after we fixed the tree, we'll be heading to Aspio and later learn that the 'mages' are hired by Barbos to steal the cores. Oh man…my knowledge of the future is going to make things complicated…

…But what if we're not able to safe the tree? What if Halure was wiped out before Flynn ever made it; or-or what if the monsters attacked again after the knights left? What if the people there are killed, Karol included? What if-?

I took deep breathes trying to calm myself, feeling the anxiety building up in my gut again. After a few moments of taking deep breaths, I shook my head. I can't think about that now; I…I just can't. I rubbed my face and pinched my cheeks again. I gotta get myself together…if I lose it, then I probably won't make it back home alive…

I have to focus on what I already set in mind for me. I want to be more useful to these guys. To do that, I HAVE to learn Healing Artes.

Heaving a sigh, I slowly stood up and began to head off to…somewhere. I wanted a quiet place to try to read the language…and I don't want Yuri and Estelle looking over at me.

I soon found myself at the lake Repede and I found last night; the mist nearly covering the surface of the water was…wow. It was like there was a mysterious feel to this sight. It was like I was in some kind of movie, like the Lord of the Rings, or the Hobbit.

….If I was ever sent to either of them, I don't think I can last long. What, with the long ass travels and running for who knows who long to get to Merry and Pippin in the second movie... not to mention Saruman and Sauron maybe after my ass if I chose to go with the Fellowship.

Or, with my crappy ass luck, I would probably get my ass thrown into either Gears of War or Dead Space! …I wouldn't even last two seconds in either of them…

I shook my head. Get back on track, brain. Do what you came here to do dammit.

Slowly, I sat down on the grass and looked around in case of monsters. I just realized that I've left my guns back at the campsite…if I was attacked by a monster, then I'll be screwed. Hopefully, I'll be safe…_Hopefully_.

I let out a small groan before I opened the book to what I think is chapter one.

…

'_This is going to be harder than I thought…'_ I thought (if this was an anime, I would've sweat-dropped), staring down at the lettering before me; curse my short attention span…

_**~o~**_

'_Okay…I THINK that's an 'N'…'_ I thought, staring at the letter that looked vaguely familiar.

I spent the next few minutes trying to decipher the Terca Lumireis writing system. So far…I made small progress. I kinda remember in my Psychology class when I first started college that a human mind can only remember seven things (how in the hell does that even work?). Seems my brain decided to be a bitch to me and got me to not remember what the writing is translated to, since I have a copy of it on my laptop back home.

Ugh, why me…?

I shook my head and looked back into the book – I have to keep trying. If I have to get through this adventure, then I have to learn their language. Again, easier said than done…

Maybe I really do suck…

Grunting, I looked back at the book. Okay…from the pictures drawn here (maybe in case to show how it works?), you…focus the aer around you with the blastia and…think healing thoughts…? …I should probably ask Estelle how it _really_ works – I seriously doubt I'll get any help from a book.

With a sigh, I closed the book-

"Having problems?"

"AH!" I yelped as I fell to the ground. What the-?!

"Y-_Yuri!_" I cried out, putting a hand over my heart, looking up at the dark haired swordsman (who had a smirk on him – the troll). "What the hell?!"

He shrugged. "You weren't around when I woke up, and Repede pointed where you went."

"…Meh," I let out, pushing myself to stand. I know dogs have better hearing than people do, but…this is kinda pathetic; I can't even be quiet around a _dog_. "I'm not exactly assassin material…" I said as I wiped the back of my pants off.

"I noticed." He bent down and picked up the book that I realized I just dropped. "So, trying to read the book Estelle gave you?" He asked, looking over it a bit.

"Yeah…" I sighed, "I'm not having much luck with it though. Since…" I gestured to the title writing in their language.

"Oh, right," he put his hand onto his hip, "You coming from another planet and all…" He looked over the book again and back at me. "How different is the writing over there compared to ours?"

"Very," I nodded, "Remember the writing on the back of my 3DS and my purple shirt when we first met?" When he nodded, I answered, "The writing you saw both times is called 'English'. It's basically one of the many languages found on my planet."

"How many of them are there?"

…How do I answer that without the possibility of imploding his mind? There are so many countries on seven continents after all; all of them with different cultures, different laws, all that jazz. There are only two factions of power in this world: the empire and the guilds. And…there are six continents (or are they regions? I don't know, really) on Terca Lumireis.

…Man, I just got to break it to him.

"Well…there are a crap-ton of different characters for different parts of the world. Also…" I kind trailed off, not really sure to tell him about the many different countries on my world.

"What?" Whup, Yuri noticed me trailing off.

I sighed. "There are…200 some or more countries over at my world."

A moment went by as I waited for Yuri to absorb this information. Then he looked over at me, raising his brows that they almost disappeared under his bangs. "Are you serious?" I just nod. He shook his head. "Damn, how do you guys manage to control those people?"

"Actually, the countries have their own leaders," I explained, "The, uh, 'leader' of the country I'm from, the United States of America, is called the president. And before you ask anything else, I'm not giving a history lesson." I crossed my arms, and shifted my gaze away. "History is not really my strong suit." That and, learning the history of your country repeatedly throughout your life gets boring after a while. What's the point of learning it anyway? I know that it's to prevent other people from committing the same mistake our ancestors did again, but…again, history is boring. To me.

"It's not like I was going to ask anyway," Yuri told me.

"Yeah…" Wow, I'm _such_ an excellent conversationist!

…That was sarcasm; I'm not good at conversations.

"Anyways, let's get back to camp before Estelle worries about us."

"Okay," I nodded to Yuri's suggestion, then I followed the guy back to camp.

As we walked, Yuri looked over his shoulder to look at me. "Speaking that, what other languages are there?"

I blinked at that…but I shrugged; might as well tell him. "Well, there's French, Spanish, Japanese, Italian, Arabic, Chinese, Russian… the list goes on."

"So…the 'Da' word you used back at the castle is one of those languages?"

"Yeah," I nodded, "It's from Russia. I don't know much Russia or other languages…but I can speak a few that I knew growing up…a little."

Yuri just nodded and looked back forward. I guess the 'lesson' is over for now. Which I can understand – the things I know might not be useful to us; it's about survival now…

We got back to camp, just as Estelle had woken up, and looking around warily. Huh, it looks like the girl has morning amnesia.

"Morning Estelle," Yuri just says, walking over to where the cooking materials are. My eyes followed him for a moment.

They shifted back to Estelle, seeing her look over to Yuri in surprise- then blinked. "Oh, Yuri…" Yup, she remembered.

I walked over to where I was sleeping, folding the blanket up and pulling my purse out of my bag. Once I stuffed both the blanket and my jacket (that I just folded) into the bag, I strapped my guns and both of my purse and bag. I looked over at what the others are doing. Estelle was just watching what the two of us were doing, sitting on her blanket, and Yuri is doing…something. I dug through my bag again, and pulled out my canteen. I took a gulp, then I realized that I had just drank the last of the water in there. I raised a brow and shook it a little to try to get more out. A small drop just came out.

Grunting, I stood up and began my trek back to the lake. "I'll be back," I called out to the others.

I didn't hear their answer, heading over to where the lake is. It took a short while, before I found the lake. I looked over the water, checking to see if the water is good. Glancing around, I don't see stream or a river…I shrugged and dunked my canteen into the water, pulling it out a moment later to take big gulps. Letting out a satisfied sigh and wiping my mouth, I dunked the canteen in again to fill it up fully. Nodding, I closed the canteen, shook it a few times to get the water off of it and stuffed it into my bag-

I froze, when my eyes caught something at the other side of the lake. What…? What is that?

It…it looked like a deer…or is it an elk? I tilted my head at the strange creature I saw. I looked…human sized, and seemed…feather-y for some reason. The creature was silently drinking water.

…I have no idea what it is, so I'm getting out of here.

Slowly, as much as I could, I pushed myself up to stand, and started to back away slowly-

The crack from the stick I stepped on seemed louder than usual, and the creature sharply moved its head up to look at me-

The antennae sticking out at the back of its head… is this creature…? The two of us stared at each other for a long, long while…

I tempted it. "Are…Are you an Entelexia?"

It didn't answer me. To be honest, I THINK it's an Entelexia; if it was a monster, it would've attacked me right now.

But, unlike I originally thought, it slowly started to turn…and went off.

I was left standing there for a few moments. "…It didn't even answer my question…" I muttered (okay, it seemed like an Entelexia), before I turned myself and left the lake.

Fortunately for me, Yuri somehow had rice on him, so we had rice balls for breakfast. I like rice, and I never had rice balls; so I ate my 'breakfast' real fast. We're kinda in a hurry after all.

…Except for me helping Estelle fold her things, and organizing them. The girl's used to having people do a lot of things for her (I guess) so she probably doesn't know how to do these things (besides swordsmanship); I should probably ask Estelle about it later.

After we were done, we were on our way again.

_~x~_

_**Skit: Thanking Repede**_

_Estelle: Repede, when I passed out, you lay down and made the nicest pillow for me. *didn't notice Yuri coming in* Thank you very much!_

_Yuri: What are you doing?_

_Estelle: I'm…Um, thanking Repede…_

_Yuri: Repede? He's not here._

_Estelle: *startled* Huh? Wh-What? *sad* …Maybe he doesn't like me._

_Yuri: Nah, he acts like that with just about everybody._

_Estelle: *determined* Well then, I'll just have to keep on trying until he accepts me!_

_~x~_

_**Skit: Weird Languages Part 2**_

_Yuri: So, Erica…_

_Erica: What? What is it?_

_Yuri: The language you used back at the castle…what is it exactly?_

_Erica: Ah. The language happened to be Japanese my dear Yuri._

_Yuri: Japanese, huh…_

_Erica: *confused* …What reason do you have asking me?_

_Yuri: …The word back there, 'baka', what is it?_

_Erica: *blinks* Was that bothering you or something?_

_Yuri: More or less._

_Erica: …It means stupid, or idiot, or dumb; something along the lines._

_Yuri: *bored look* I figured as much._

_Erica: *shrugs* Well, you asked._

_Estelle: *comes in* What's going on?_

_Erica: *grins* Oh, nothing ma cherie. _

_Estelle: Huh?_

_Yuri: Aaand, there she goes again._

_~x~_

_**Skit: Eat or Be Eaten**_

_Estelle: Monsters are easier to beat than I thought…_

_Yuri: Isn't that better being harder than you thought?_

_Erica: Maybe we're just awesome like that._

_Estelle: Well…I can't help but feel sorry for them._

_Repede: *whine*_

_Yuri: You're way too nice. I don't particularly enjoy being someone's dinner._

_Estelle: You're right…This is different from inside the castle…the strong eat the weak._

_Erica: *gives Estelle a weird look* Just because that's true doesn't mean that we'll be eating any of them. We have no idea where they've been or what they ate._

_Yuri: She has a point._

_Repede: *woof!*_

_Estelle: Yes… I…I won't hesitate to defeat any monsters! But I will never forget what I fought or where I fought it._

_Yuri: Well…suit yourself, I guess._

_Erica: I don't think I can do something like that…_

_Estelle: *didn't hear Erica* Then, when I return to the capital, I will make graves in memory of all the monsters I've killed._

_*both Yuri and Erica looks at her weirdly and the two and Repede backed away from her*_

_Yuri: I…uh…I guess you could do that… *mutters* I don't understand this girl at all…_

_Erica: Me too. _

_Repede: *woof!*_

_~x~_

_**Skit: Is This the Curse?**_

_Estelle: We can't seem to find our way through this forest at all. Oh! Could this be the curse?! What should we do, Yuri?! There really was a curse after all!_

_Yuri: Don't be stupid…_

_Estelle: Or…do you not have a good sense of direction?_

_Erica: Um…none of us have been through here, Estelle. I guess ANY one can get lost through here…_

_Yuri: Calm down, of course I do…I think…_

_Erica: *bored look* That's not helping Yuri…_

_Estelle: Then maybe it's my fault…?! What should we do…?_

_Yuri: *mutters* They say no medicine can cure a fool, but I wish something could cure a bad sense of direction…_

_Repede: *whine…*_

_~x~_

"Aqua Bullet!" That was me, shooting at the ground to make a small circle of water to appear under a wolf. With it distracted, I shot at the wolf a few times since I was close blank to it, and it was dead.

It let out a sigh, looking around for a moment. Seems like the others had taken care of their share of monsters (with Yuri and Repede the fastest – the show offs…). I nodded and put my guns away. _'I think I'm getting better at this…'_ I thought. At least, I thought so; I don't know how I'll compare to the others yet. Yuri, Repede and Estelle had training; I have none. I'm basically winging it.

After the battle, and beating a lot of monsters (where my nightmare come true in the form of HUGE bees; the Killer bees) we continued our trek through the woods. I still thought about my problem of being illiterate; it won't be long before some people (like Rita) will realize this and become suspicious.

I looked at the back of Estelle's head, the princess walking next to Yuri, with Repede on the other side of the man. …I remember what Estelle had said to me back at Deidon Hold – about being my friend and all. Estelle…the girl deserved to know the truth about me. I told Yuri the truth…now I just need to tell Estelle. I hope that she'll help me out with reading their writing.

I nodded, and walked up to Estelle. "Hey, Estelle?"

The pinkette let out a grunt, looking back at me. "What is it Erica?"

Huugh, man…here goes nothing. "I have something that I wanted to tell you."

She blinked at me. "What's that?"

I rubbed the back of my head at this, then I sighed, and said, "Estelle, I'm-"

Repede's growl got our attention, and we all looked to see the dog growling at the bushes next to us.

Yuri let out a grunt, looking over the dog. "What is it Repede?"

Suddenly, Repede barked at the bushes and a boy's scream was heard-

Wait, boy? Then-

"Y-You damn monster!" The familiar voice declared, trying to sound brave (even though I now heard it, it's anything _but_ brave). "I am NOT afraid of you! I-I'll kill you and take your claw! P-Prepare to die, eggbear!"

And who would come jumping out of the bushes than Karol Capel himself, and, with a battle cry, he started to swing his sword wildly…at nothing but air (since Repede had jumped out of the way in time). The four of us stared at the boy as he continued to swing, oblivious to our stares (and if this were an anime, most of us would've sweat-dropped at this).

"Uh…" I looked over at Yuri, jabbing my thumb at the boy. "…should we do something?"

He just shrugged and I looked back at Karol-

"OH CRAP!" I screamed and I started to run away (while screaming)…because Karol is now _chasing me around while swinging his sword! ! _"HELP! HELP ME! !"

I didn't hear Yuri (probably because he couldn't hear me over our screams) as I continued to run…but I have a feeling that he was laughing at me. It took a few moments, but I tripped and I covered my head and closed my eyes in reflex (and I think I heard something else; it's hard to describe really).

…

"I'm dead. I'mdeadI'mdeadI'mdead, I died I did…" I muttered, as if I couldn't believe that I'm still alive.

I heard grass crunching until something was next to me. "Um…are you okay Erica?"

"Huh?" Was my intelligent response; looking up at the source of the voice. I blinked. "Estelle?"

She just nodded as I pushed myself up. "What happened?" I asked, dusting my legs off.

She looked in a direction, and I looked as well. Karol was on the ground, seemingly passed out on the ground, with Yuri (who had his sword drawn) and Repede looking down at him…and the part of the blade that was once a part of Karol's sword is sticking up from the ground, a few feet away from us.

…Wow, if Yuri can cleave a sword almost all the way to the hilt, then he's _really_ strong. Or maybe he cheated using the blastia.

Estelle and I walked over to them, looking down at the young brunette. "Is…Is he okay?" I asked, crouching down to look at the boy.

"Well, he tried to pick himself up," Yuri began to explain, "but when he saw Repede, he fell back."

"Huh…" I looked over the boy, looking at his face. I think I can see specks of sweat on his face. Seems he's trying to play dead.

I poked him on the face a little. When he didn't stir, I poked harder. Still didn't stir. I made a bored look at him as I grunted. "So that's how you want to go down…" I muttered. I held up my hands, and wiggled my fingers.

Then I started to tickle his armpits. After a few moments, his face began to scrunch up, as if trying to keep himself from laughing. And, after a few seconds, he started to laugh.

"St-Stop! Stop it!" He tried to get out, but laughing pretty hard didn't help much. I grinned, and I drew my hands away, and I sat down next to him. We waited a few moments for him to calm down, taking in deep breaths to get some air back into his lungs. Soon, he pushed himself up and he seemed calm.

Then Estelle bent over a little. "Um…are you okay?"

"Huh?" Karol let out, looking over at the pink haired girl. Then he looked over at us, as if in surprise (cringing a little at Repede). "W-Wait a minute…you guys aren't a monster?"

I made a bored look at him. "No, I'm Dan Aykroyd," I said in sarcasm, before I snapped, "Of course we're not a monster! You nearly killed me!" The boy jumped at me snapping at him.

…And I heard Estelle asking Yuri, "Who is Dan Aykroyd?"

"Beats me," he said.

The boy hurriedly got to his feet (holding on to his sword) and babbled to try to explain himself-

Then he let out a cry of surprise upon seeing his sword (or what's left of it). "M-My sword!"

"Well, you shouldn't blindly attack people thinking they're a monster," Yuri told him, as I stood up myself (and nearly falling over).

"O-Oh," The boy let out, before looking over at me. "I-I'm so sorry- I-!"

I let out a sigh, and waved my hand to calm him. "Don't worry about it," I told him, "I know it's an accident."

"…You don't get angry much, do you?" Yuri asked me.

"Nope, for some reason I can't get angry," I answered, shrugging.

"Okay…"

Seems Karol have calmed down finally, and looked over at us. "Well…anyway, I'm Karol Capel!" The boy introduced himself. "I'm a member of the guild, the Hunting Blades! We travel the globe in search of the toughest monsters."

The three of us gave each other a look, upon hearing the name of the guild, but Yuri looked back at the boy. "I'm Yuri, this is Estelle," he jabbed his thumb at the girl then nodded at me and Repede. "You've met Repede and Erica already."

"_I'm_ Erica," I spoke up, to help clarify Yuri.

"Anyway, nice to meet you," Yuri said, turning and walking away.

"Wha-? Yuri, wait!" Estelle called out to him. She turned back to the boy and bowed to him. "My apologies." She turned to follow the man.

"Hey, are you guys here to enter the woods?" Karol let out. "If so, then I'll-"

I looked over at Karol in surprise. "Really? We're at the other side?" I asked him. When he gave me a hesitant nod, I grinned. "Sweet! We're almost to Halure! Thanks Karol!" I turned to follow the others.

"Huh? No way!" Karol's surprised exclamation got our attention back to him (the young brunette running to the front of us), seeing his brown eyes wide in shock. "You guys made it through the cursed woods? ?"

"Actually, it wasn't cursed at all," I explained to him. "The only thing this place has is monsters."

"Really?" The boy let out, his arms slacking a little. "Then…have you guys run into any eggbears?"

"Do you know what he's talking about Yuri?" Estelle asked our dark haired swordsman.

"Nope, I don't think we've seen any."

At Yuri's answer, the boy visibly slumped. "Oh…"

I tilted my head at him. "Is there any particular reason why you're searching for one?" I asked him.

Seems Karol didn't hear me, muttering to himself. I think he was muttering about the Hunting Blades probably waiting back at Halure-

At the thought of the city, I _had_ to ask Karol. "Oh, uh, Karol can I ask you something?" The boy looked over at me.

"What is it?" He asked.

"Uh…" Okay…I need to come up with an excuse to ask about Halure's condition. I'm worried about the people living there. Oh! "I run into this lady back at the Hold, and she asked me about the condition of the city. How is it? Did you come from there?" I already knew the answer – that yes, he _did_ come from Halure to find the eggbear claw and nia fruit for the panacea bottle to cure the tree.

I tried to ignore the three members staring at the back of my head as Karol looked over at me for a moment then blinked. "Oh, yeah, it was fine when I left this morning," he answered, "Though…I'm not sure…"

I blinked when he trailed off for a moment. Oh man…if what he said is true, I hope the monsters didn't attack Halure again when Karol left.

But it seemed Karol came to a decision, nodding to himself. "Okay! I'm not sure if you guys would make it on your own, but never fear! The star member of the Hunting Blades will be your escort! Look, see!" He moved his large blue bag to the front to let us see the piece of technology is placed, "I've got my own blastia, so you should…"

He trailed off when he noticed Estelle and Yuri each having a bodhi blastia. "What…? You both have one too?"

"Yup, even me," I said, then bended a little to let the boy see my hairband blastia. "See? Repede has one too." I added, pointing to the blastia at the base of the dog's tail.

I straightened up to see the boy jerk a little. "O-Oh yeah? Well, how'dya like this?!" He dug into his blue bag and (okay, I can't help it but I was playing that jingle when you receive an important item in Twilight Princess in my head) he pulled out a red book.

…Is that the monster book?

Me and Estelle crowd around Yuri when he took the book and opened it. "It has information about monsters," Estelle noted, as Yuri flipped through the pages. She let out a grunt noticing that the rest of the pages are blank.

"Huh, weird, the rest of the pages are blank…" I said, not wanting to be left out.

Karol stuttered, then tried to recover with: "Th-That's because I'm gonna fill it up with piles of monsters after this." Yuri then pulled out…is that a Magic Lens? He just looked over the item and held it near the book. It glowed, and…

"Whoa…" I let out, when the pages started to fill up before our eyes. Is THAT how it works? …Hey, it even has a description of Zagi…weird.

"H-Hey! What are you doing?!" Karol exclaimed, snatching the book back from us. He looked over it to see if there are any marks or something on it before he put it back in his bag. "Who said that you can write into it?!"

"Uh…we didn't exactly write in it, Karol," I told him, "As a matter of fact, we helped you out, didn't we?"

"Um…"

Then Yuri went into teasing mood, saying, "It might hurt your 'start member' status if it got out that you broke your sword."

The boy jerked (again) and laughed, rubbing the back of his head. "Oh, that? I had to give myself some handicap, or else it wouldn't have been a fair fight," he explained…but I know that he's lying. About himself being the star member of the Hunting Blades; and I think Yuri can also see that.

"You sure?" I asked him as he looked back to his sword (now working as a hammer) and gave it a couple of swings to test it.

"Hey, that's actually not too bad…" He muttered, ignoring me.

I looked back to the others, to see them leaving. Seriously…?

I looked back at Karol, who was kinda busy to notice. "Well, see ya Karol." I hurried to catch up to the others.

THEN Karol noticed us leaving and shouted, "Yo! Do you guys even know where you're going! Halure's to the north once you get out of the woods! Come on, guys! Wait for me!" And just like that, Karol joined our strange band of travelers-

"AH! BIRD! KILL IT, IT'S EVIL! !" …Until we ran into an Axe Beak, and I stole Karol's makeshift hammer to smash its brains in.

Yeah; we're a colorful bunch.

_~x~_

_**Skit: Even Dogs Have Pride**_

_Karol: I don't understand Repede. He's a dog, with claws and fangs, but he uses weapons…?_

_Repede: *Grr…Woof*_

_Yuri: Yeah, I guess dogs do usually fight with claws and fangs._

_Estelle: Huh? But Repede's a dog, isn't he?_

_Repede: *Woof woof!*_

_Yuri: Repede is Repede._

_Karol: …What does that mean?_

_Repede: *Woof woof! WOOF!*_

_Yuri: Whatever he is, Repede doesn't think of himself as a dog. That's why he uses weapons and items. But that's not to say that he thinks of himself as a human, either._

_Estelle: …I don't really understand… But he seems very proud._

_Repede: *WOOF!*_

_Yuri: Yep! So show him some respect!_

_Karol: …Hey, Yuri. Are you translating what Repede's saying?_

_Yuri: Nah, it's just your imagination._

_~x~_

_**Skit: Birds, Nature's Assholes**_

_Karol: Hey Erica, you don't seem to like birds, do you?_

_Erica: What makes you say that?_

_Karol: Well…when you attacked that Axe Beak earlier…_

_Erica: Oh right… Yesterday, I was clobbered by one of them; then I just beat the crap out of it._

_Karol: Really? That's-_

_Erica: With my bare hands._

_Karol: Huh! W-Whoa! *backs away*_

_Erica: Relax; I'm not going to hurt you if that's what you're thinking. …Though those assholes will be toast if I ever run into more of them._

_Karol: Oh…but, does that include other birds?_

_Erica: Karol, birds are nature's assholes! No matter WHAT kind they are! And that's a fact!_

_~x~_

_**Skit: Friends Make the Journey Fun**_

_Karol: Having friends to talk to really makes traveling a lot more fun! When I'm by myself, I get a little scare- uh, I mean bored!_

_Yuri: Yeah, mm-hmm. Hey Karol, there's a monster behind you._

_Karol: What?! *looks behind him in shock*_

_Yuri: Oh, my mistake. I must be seeing things._

_Karol: D-Don't do that!_

_Erica: …Yuri, you can be troll when you want to be…_

_Estelle: Our trip just got livelier._

_Repede: Woof!_

_~x~_

_**Skit: The Broken Sword**_

_Estelle: Karol, are you okay…e-even though your sword's still broken?_

_Karol: Nah, it's lighter and feels easier to use!_

_Yuri: Now your sword won't be swinging you anymore – sounds good to me. Breaking your sword to get it to just the right length… You're obviously some guild's ace!_

_Estelle: …Yuri, you didn't break Karol's sword on purpose, did you?_

_Yuri: I'm not that good._

_Erica: Nah, I think they both cheated is what. And another thing, Karol almost killed me back there. So…I dunno, whatever floats you guys' boat I guess… *leaves*_

_Karol: …Is she always like this?_

_Yuri: Nah, she's a little weird at times. You just have to get used to her._

_~x~_

_**~o~**_

_~x~_

_**Skit: Maps**_

_Karol: Estelle, what are you looking at?_

_Estelle: It's a map of the area around here._

_Karol: Ooh, let me see… Hey, this is almost completely blank! You can't call this a map!_

_Erica: What do you expect? We just left Zaphias yesterday._

_Yuri: That is true…_

_Karol: Really? Then you should try a surveyors' guild, like the 'World's Cellar'! Their maps are really amazing! All the top guild members have one._

_Yuri: So then, naturally you've got a copy, right, Karol? Let's see it!_

_Karol: Uhhh, well, y'see…Once you get as good as I am, you don't need to use a map anymore!_

_Estelle: Oh, that's too bad. I really wanted to see it._

_Erica: *mutters* …I'm getting the impression that he doesn't really have one._

_~x~_

The boy was a bit flustered after what happened back at the forest. He had left Halure at around six to try to get the eggbear claw to cure the tree. He remembered seeing a few knights around Halure, and they were stumped by what's wrong with it. He knew the answer, and tried to get a panacea bottle to cure the tree of the poison from the monsters' blood. But when he went to the store to get some, he found that they had _just_ run out.

The shop keeper assured him that he would be able to make a panacea bottle once he has the ingredients: a luluria petal, a nia fruit and an eggbear claw. The last two ingredients are found at Quoi Woods, so he figured that he might be able to get those…

…But the thought of fighting an eggbear alone scares the living crap out of him. Yet he wanted to prove to Nan that he _can_ do it; he wanted her to see the flowers of Halure's tree in full bloom. It was that thought that motivated him to go to the woods to find the eggbear.

…He honestly didn't expect to run into people who managed to cross the supposedly 'cursed' woods. Unfortunately, they haven't seen any eggbears during their trek…and he had to return to Halure to, uh, escort them there (and it's not because he wanted to get out of fighting the eggbear. No, that isn't it at all).

He had to admit, they were pretty strange.

The leader (supposedly), Yuri, is pretty strong. The boy figured that was because he has a blastia…but it looked far more…practiced. It was as if he was strong _before_ gaining his blastia. The question is, though, where did he get it? As far as personality terms…um, he has this nature that he doesn't take any nonsense, really sarcastic and teases him (and the older brunette) a bit.

The pink haired girl, Estelle, is pretty polite. Her healing magic is amazing, yet she dresses a bit…fancy. Perhaps she's a noble? If so, she's nicer than some of the others he had met (and seen).

He was still wary about the dog, Repede. The dog looked fierce, especially that one eye and pipe he has. It was as if the dog would bite his face off at any moment (and he believed it).

Finally, there's the young woman that he, uh…nearly killed; Erica. She's a bit…odd. For one, he was a bit…wary of her; since he just witnessed her viciously attack an Axe Beak earlier…but, she's nice…in a strange way. Not that dangerous at all. Which was strange, because she has guns; perhaps looks are deceiving. …Especially when she tripped over a rock on their way to Halure.

It took about three hours to get to Halure from Quoi Woods (just as it took him three hours to GET to the Quoi woods from Halure). He heard Erica mutter, "Ho. Ly. Shit…"

Yeah, he had the same reaction as her when he first saw the giant tree barrier. But, with the tree dying, it won't bloom anytime soon. Or do what it's made to do…

"Halure… the 'City of Blossoms.'" Estelle spoke up, as if introducing the place for the others.

"Yeah, that's right," Karol nodded to confirm what she said.

"Don't they have a barrier here?" Yuri asked (he didn't even notice the man looking up at the sky to try to find the familiar rings.

"Yes, there should be…" Estelle said, looking up as well.

The boy took a few steps forward and turned to them. "You guys haven't been to Halure before, right?" He asked, their head turned to him.

Their silence pretty much answered his question. "So then you haven't heard about the tree barrier."

Yuri raised his eye brow at this. "Tree barrier?"

"'Some blastia fuse to plant like, gain organic qualities and evolve,'" all heads turned to Estelle when she spoke (as if she knew the information by heart) and the girl turned to Yuri and Erica, saying, "The tree barrier of Halure is one prime example of this. I read that in a book."

"Huh…" Erica let out, crossing her arms. "Who would've thought, huh?"

"Well thank you, professor," Yuri said to Estelle, then turned to Karol. "So what's happened to this famous barrier?"

"Well…" Karol somewhat trailed off, his eyes going over to the citizens of Halure, most of them with bandages on them, and there are others trying to treat them. He heard footsteps, but didn't acknowledge them; they're probably trying to see what he's seeing.

"Doesn't look like it's doing much right now," Yuri noted amidst Erica's: "…oh my god…"

Karol looked back at the two. "Every year, just before the blossoms are in full bloom, the barrier weakens for a while," he explained. "It's just that time of year right now, and the monsters took the opportunity to attack…"

"Why? What did the people of Halure do to them?" …He and Yuri looked over at Erica in confusion when she asked that.

"What are you talking about?" Karol asked her, "Monsters just attack whatever moves."

"Uh, well, yeah, that is true I guess," she said, "But…they're still animals aren't they? Doesn't the aer drive them crazy or something? Or did the monster felt threatened by the people of Halure or…something…"

…To be honest, he doesn't know a lot about monsters (only from what Nan and some of the others told him about); he only knew about how they behave and what type of weather would draw certain ones out. He hadn't thought about that…

He mentally shook it off when Yuri asked, "Is that when the barrier went down?"

"Yeah," the boy replied solemnly, "the monsters were taken care of, but the tree is slowly starting to decay." He then saw someone run by him. Is that-? "Hey!" It's Nan! It has to be!

"W-What is it?" Estelle asked, coming up to them.

He had to catch up to her! "Sorry, I've gotta run!" He told them. "Bye!" He took off running after the girl.

It took him a few moments, but he finally caught up to the girl. "Nan! I've found you-!" He exclaimed as he grabbed the girl by the shoulder to turn her around-

"Huh?" The girl let out, blinking in confusion. "Who's Nan?"

The boy froze in his place. …That is _not_ Nan. "Oh, um…" he let out, backing away from her. "S-Sorry about that…I thought you were someone else."

"Oh, really?" The girl tilted her head. "Well, see you." She walked passed him…leaving the boy to stand there.

After a moment, he slumped forward in dismay. "Oh…"

_**~o~**_

I watched carefully as Estelle healed the other injured people of Halure.

After Karol ran off to catch up to the girl he thought was Nan, Estelle quickly hurried off to heal the other injured people that the medics weren't able to get to. Poor Yuri, having to keep an eye on the three of us, running off before he can get a say in anything…

Anyways, I just watched Estelle use her Healing Artes to heal a couple of people, watching the soft yellow light float around her. Seeing magic like this up close…it's strange, but, when I was little, I always believed that magic is real. Sure I'm gullible, believing in almost everything I heard…but, as I grew older, I knew better now. Still…I haven't really let go of my childish fantasy about magic and such. I always thought that magic was pretty damn cool; and being able to use them. Tales of Symphonia, Tales of Vesperia, Tales of the Abyss and Kingdom Hearts kept that fantasy alive.

Sure, it all looked cool in my head…but, looking at this now… I wanted to use whatever I learn to help anyone I could-

Help anyone I could… Could…could I change a lot of things in this world? Prevent Belius' and the Don's death; prevent Estelle's kidnapping; prevent Alexei from screwing the world over on accident-?

I covered my mouth and paced away a little.

I-No, I- If I did any of that, then Estelle wouldn't learn just how dangerous her powers are to the Entelexia; Karol wouldn't get motivated to stand on his own two feet; Raven wouldn't be able learn that he's still himself, and that will allow him to defy Alexei-

I-Oh man, what the hell should I do?! Do I change things, and hope for the better or-or just let things run their course? I-I can't-

I jerked, when something hit me.

…Yeah. I think there's ONE thing I can prevent.

Yuri's fall. If-If I can manage to stay with Yuri after we defeat Alexei (a major IF), then I can prevent Sodia trying to kill him.

I…don't hate Sodia for that, even though I'm a Yuri fan. I can understand her reasons for doing that: she doesn't want Flynn to become corrupted by a murderer (err, vigilante; yeah). But…does she consider the consequences of her actions before doing that-?

No, hatred, anger and jealousy makes people do a lot of things – things that people will regret for a long, long time. I think…around the end of the animated cut-scene there, Sodia realized it…but she didn't do anything to try to save him. …Was she just in shock of what she just did?

I have no idea.

Anyway, it's a long way off, so that'll probably give me a good long time to think of how to prevent it.

I returned to reality…and finding myself at the base of Halure's tree. Damn, the tree is a lot bigger up close…

The petals are a dark purple…and the bark looks…sick. The bark a darker brown than usual…

It's really disturbing…

I ran my hand over the bark, half tempted to peel the bark off…but I don't want a horde of angry villagers after me for killing the tree some more. But…when I tried to take my hand off of it, this…icky goop was attached to my hand!

"Ah!" I let out, and wiped my hand on the grass-

I blinked and leaned forward a bit more to look closer. Oh god…the dirt…looked weird. I remember seeing a monster slain in front of the tree, with its blood a puddle around its body… How quickly did the tree absorb the blood?

I looked back up at the tree. "Man…you've been here for a long while," I said to it, "protecting this place." I tentatively put my hand back on the bark and patted the tree. "Don't you worry; we'll have you fixed up in no time."

"Hey, there you are."

"HOLY-!" I jumped and turned to the source-

"URGH!" I let as Yuri, Estelle and Repede calmly walked over to me (with the dark haired man smirking a little). "Quit sneaking up on me!"

"Sorry, couldn't resist," he shrugged. "You're pretty much an easy target."

I just grunt, not amused.

Yuri then looked up at the tree I was standing before, and…we all kinda did, too. "Man, it's huge up close," he said (did he sound impressed?).

"The tree's flowers should blossom any day now," Estelle said.

"Yeah, I wish I could see it in bloom."

I nodded. "Me too," I said, "It might look incredible to see."

"Yes… There's something about the image of a tall tree vibrant with blossoms and protecting the city…it's so…romantic…"

I looked over at Estelle to see a rather dreamy look on her face. "Well…I can't say it's romantic…" I muttered, looking at the roots near us.

Thank the gods Estelle didn't hear me, and she said to Yuri, "You know, I'm going to stay here and help heal the injured."

Yuri let out a thoughtful grunt. "Well…if you're going to heal something, maybe you could heal the barrier itself?"

"What do you mean?" Estelle sounded confused.

"When monsters come again, more people are gonna get hurt," Yuri explained, and I looked back at the two talking. "Those kids we just saw could be among them."

"That's true…but, I have no idea how I could heal the barrier…"

I looked back up at the tree. "Well…not to sound negative, but…I don't think a simple First Aid can heal the barrier," I said, "I'll probably need something a lot stronger to do that." Again, I was being realistic. Sure, Healing Artes are helpful…but they can't heal _everything_.

…And I suddenly just remembered that one scene in Tales of Symphonia when the group revived a Linkite Tree to get the nuts to call Aska. Wow. I can't _believe_ I've forgotten about that.

Just as I had that thought, Yuri then told her, "Well, what you need to heal is this tree." I turned back to Yuri to see him walking up to the tree and knocked on the trunk a little. "It wouldn't be in this condition just because some monsters attacked it."

Wow, there's Yuri perspective-ness at work folks.

"You think there's some other reason?" Estelle asked him.

"I think there's gotta be," Yuri answered, looking back at us.

"…I think you might be right," I said, looking up at the tree again. "Because there's no way you can kill a tree like this. The only way to do _that_ is to tear off its bark in a circle around the trunk; that should do the trick for the most part." Learned that in biology in college; the high school I went to doesn't teach you this stuff.

"Then…what else could it be?" Estelle asked, walking up the tree as well.

"What are the three of you doing over here?" We all heard an old man ask, and we turned to the source- oh, it's the mayor of Halure.

"We're trying to figure out why the tree has withered like this," Estelle answered him.

The mayor looked over at her then at the tree. "I don't know if you'll make much progress on that one," he told us. "The knight Flynn couldn't figure out the reason either."

"Oh, speaking of that," I looked over at Yuri and asked, "Is Flynn around here?"

"Nope," he answered, "Turns out he left this morning towards the east; he spent the night here to make sure that everyone is safe from the monsters until early this morning."

I blinked in surprise. "…Didn't he get some rest?"

"That's…a habit Flynn developed," Yuri explained, "He works too much at times; he forgot about everything else like food, sleep and his own health."

…Wow. I sighed. "All work and no play make Jack a dull boy," I muttered. I hope that Flynn won't snap from working so much…

If Yuri heard me, he didn't give any indication that he did.

Our attention is diverted when Karol just happened to walk by, his head hanging. Huh, I guess he's depressed that Nan isn't here. Speaking of which…where did the Hunting Blades go after we saw them at Deidon Hold?

"Oh, Karol!" Estelle called out to the boy, "Karol, we need your help!"

The boy stopped, his body slumping over and merely turned his head to look at us. "…What are you talking about?" Hmm, seems he's not in the mood to talk. That's too bad; because these folks need his help.

"It seems these three are trying to figure out the reason the tree's withered, so-"

"Oh, is that all?" Karol cut off the mayor, sounding bored.

"What do you mean, 'is that all'?" Estelle asked, sounding confused.

"I know the reason," he answered, looking down at the ground. "It's why I was in the forest looking for the eggbear…"

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Yuri asked.

Karol pointed at the ground under us. "Look closely at the ground," he told us, "Notice the strange color?"

…I already saw the dirt, and as the others looked at the ground, I spoke up. "Now that you've mentioned it…the dirt looked…off for some reason." I glanced back down at the ground back at Karl as I said so.

"Yeah," Karol said, finally turning to us. "That color is where the ground absorbed the blood of monsters that attacked the town. That blood has been poisoning Halure's tree."

"What!" The mayor exclaimed in surprise as they all looked over at Karol. "The monster blood? I had no idea…"

"Karol, you really know your stuff, don't you?" Estelle said, sounding impressed.

"…It was nothing," Karol said, not really enthused by the praise.

Kid, get your mind out of there, would you? Life isn't fair; and your crush on Nan is just a passing phase (even though there is one part in a small cut-scene in Dahngrest where you can either make him do a battle cry or declares love to Nan, so, it probably won't count).

"-an do to get rid of the poison?" Yuri's question got me back to reality and I looked over at him and back at Karol in time for the boy to say:

"I know a way, but…well, no one believes me."

…Aw crap, now the first part of that song 'I believe I can _fly~_' popped into my head.

Yuri walked up to the boy and kneeled to his level. "Come on, try us."

Karol looked up at Yuri in surprise then bowed his head. He raised his head, and answered, "I think we'd be able to do it if we had a panacea bottle."

"Really?" I asked, sounding intrigued as Yuri stood up.

"Maybe we can get one in the General Store," he said.

"Then let's go, you two!" Estelle exclaimed and she literally dragged me along with her! How strong is that girl? ?

"ACK! Estelle, wait!" I could barely let out (and I think I heard Yuri laughing at me – again) but it fell on deft ears-

"OW!" …until my side hits the part of a sign wrong, leaving me reeling in pain. As Estelle fretted over me, with Yuri and Repede catching up to us, one thought entered my mind:

_'This world hates me. I _know_ it!'_

_~x~_

_**Skit: The Tree of Halure**_

_Estelle: I can't wait until the tree's blossoms are in full bloom. They'll be fantastic…_

_Yuri: I bet there's a flood of petals big enough to just sweep you away._

_Estelle: All those petals dancing in the breeze… It'll be like a dream…_

_Erica: *mutters* Yeah, that…sounds kinda nice…_

_Yuri: I wonder how they deal with all their houses getting buried in flowers every year. That's gotta be a pain to clean up._

_Erica: *bored look* You're such a killjoy Yuri._

_Estelle: I-I'm sorry, but I have to agree. You really take the fun out of things, Yuri._

_~x~_

* * *

**Figured that I'd stop here; I've left you guys hanging for too long. What is that mysterious creature that Erica/I encountered? Is it really an Entelexia? Or not? Erica/I won't learn magic right now, but she/I will soon enough.**

**It's time to go eggbear hunting in the next chapter! Leave a review my lovely fans!**


	8. Die, eggbear, die!

Time to die, eggbear!

**Disclaimer: Still don't own Tales, it belongs to Japan; along with Pocky. …I wish I have some right now…I want chocolate, dammit!**

* * *

"Unfortunately, we're sold out at the moment," the shopkeeper to the store 'Regulus' told us when we asked for a panacea bottle.

Well, that figures. Maybe the knights used some to clear off any poisons from the monsters during the ambush; that's just a guess, anyway.

"But how can that be…?" Estelle asked, sounding surprised by the info. I resisted the urge to sigh at this.

"But you know," the shopkeeper spoke up, "if I had the right ingredients, I'd be able to fix some up for you."

"What would you need to make it?" Yuri asked.

The shopkeeper answered: "I'd need three ingredients: 'eggbear claw', 'nia fruit', and 'luluria petal'." Then he tilted his head at us. "But why do you need a panacea bottle so badly? A kid came by earlier this morning, asking about the same exact thing."

"We want to heal Halure's tree," Estelle answered (and I thought I heard footsteps against wood). I looked over my shoulder a little to see Karol walking by – but when he heard Estelle's answer; he looked over at us and hid behind one of the large lanterns on the ground behind us. I looked back to the shopkeeper, pretending that I didn't see him, in time for Yuri to let out:

"Yeah…" Huh, I guessed I missed that part, looking over a Karol. And I think Yuri noticed the boy as well.

"What sort of thing is this 'nia fruit' you mentioned?" Estelle asked the man behind the counter.

"It's a fruit that only grows in the Quoi Woods," he answered, "It's an oddly shaped fruit with a flower at the bottom of it, but tastes bitter if you try to eat it."

At this, I decided to feign an insight. "So then, an eggbear is a type of monster?" I asked, raising my brow, "You mentioned 'eggbear claw'."

The shopkeeper nodded. "That's right," he confirmed, even though I already knew.

"So, how do you find an eggbear?" Yuri asked.

This time, the shopkeeper shook his head. "Sorry, I can't help you there," he said, "Monsters are beyond my expertise. If a member of the Hunting Blades were here they might be able to tell you. They make their living by hunting monsters."

At that, Yuri looked over his shoulder to where Karol is hiding. "So _that's_ why he was in the forest…" I heard him mutter to himself.

"What can you tell us about the luluria petal?" Estelle asked the man, getting Yuri's attention back to the girl.

"You know the tree in the middle of the town, right?" At our nod, he continued, "It's a petal from that tree. Normally we use magic resin but there isn't any around these parts at all."

"But the tree is all withered…" Estelle muttered, sounding dismayed.

Well, I might have to fix that. "Say, is it possible that someone may have some luluria petals from last year or something?" I asked, keeping my eyes on the shopkeeper.

He looked over at me in surprise. "Actually, yes; the mayor might have some of them. You might try asking him."

I felt Yuri look over at me a bit, then back at the man. "Gotcha. We'll come back when we've gotten the ingredients together."

We walked away from the store and Estelle spoke up. "So we need to locate a nia fruit and an eggbear in Quoi Woods, right?"

"Seems like it," Yuri said, "So…" he looked over to where Karol is hiding, and added, "We'll probably need our resident Ace to get the eggbear."

Yeah, it is true that Karol is part of the guild the Hunting Blades…but the kid has some confidence issues. At least Yuri will help remedy that.

Speaking of Karol, we found the boy a bit away from the lantern he was hiding behind, his head bowed in thought. "Come on Karol, we're going back to the Quoi Woods," Yuri told him.

The boy looked back at Yuri, looking confused. "What do you mean?"

"Remember?" Then, making his voice high-pitched, he said in imitation of Karol, "'Prepare to die, eggbear!'"

I snorted, covering my mouth with my hand to prevent laughing. Wow, hearing it up close is _funny_.

"You mean you believe what I said about the panacea bottle?" The boy asked, completely surprised that three adults actually believed him.

"Were you lying?" Yuri asked, raising his brow and head tilted a little. Karol shook his head immediately at Yuri's question. "Well then, we'll have to go with what you've told us."

"Yuri…" The boy breathed out in awe. Then he rubbed the back of his head, saying, "All right, I'll help you out just this once. I'm a very busy person, you know."

I raised my brow at him. "Are you?"

"Uh…" The boy droned out, not sure how to answer.

I shrugged. "Well, no matter," I said.

"It's settled then!" Estelle exclaimed, sounding excited. "The four of us will restore the barrier together."

"Here, here!" I piped in, raising my hand a little.

"Wait, you're coming too, Estelle?" Karol asked the pinkette, staring at the princess in surprise.

She gave him a confused look, as if he just asked a stupid question. "Well, of course I am," she said, as if it was obvious.

"What about waiting for Flynn?" Yuri asked the girl.

"Wasn't it you who said 'if you're going to heal something it should be the tree'?" Hah, she owned you Yuri.

"Well, I suppose it's fair," I said, "Think of this as his punishment for making us chase his Knightly ass around the region."

I heard Yuri snort a little as Estelle gave me a look. "What? It's the truth." I defended myself.

"Okay you two," Yuri jokingly reprimand us (though when I looked over at him, he had a smirk on his face), "settle down. We'll just have to fix the tree before he gets back. I can't wait to see the look on his face."

Oh, I bet you would Yuri. "So, where to now you guys?" I asked, clasping my hands.

We quickly head over to where the mayor's house is (but…since the city is a lot bigger than from the game, it's hard to find it – so Estelle and I asked someone where his house is; turns out to be near the entrance to the city from where we entered). He gave us the petal with no trouble, after we explained that we needed it to cure the tree.

After we walked away from the mayor's house, Yuri looked over at Karol. "Next up on the list is the nia fruit…and an eggbear claw was it?"

The boy nodded. "Yep. Let's go to the Quoi Woods; we should be there at around 3 if we leave now."

I blinked, looking over at the boy. "How do you know that?" I asked. It's noon? When did _that_ happen?

Karol looked over at me and dug into his pocket-

"I carry this watch with me," was his answer, holding up one of those old pocket watches.

I stared at him for a few moments…then I exclaimed, "I love you Karol!" as I hugged him (ignoring the boy's yelp).

_**~o~**_

_~x~_

_**Skit: Karol and Repede**_

_Karl: Wh-What's the matter, Repede?_

_Repede: Grrr…_

_Karol: *nervous* Wh-Why are you mad? *Repede gets closer* H-Hold on! You…you don't want to eat me, do you?! H-Help me, Yuri! *didn't notice Repede running by him*_

_Yuri: *comes in* Something the matter, Karol?_

_Karol: *notices that Repede is gone* It's…it's nothing. *laughs nervously*_

_Yuri: Talk about mood swings…_

_~x~_

_**Skit: What Are They Talking About?**_

_Yuri and Erica: *talking to each other*_

_Karol: …What do you think they're talking about?_

_Estelle: I'm not sure. They've been talking for a while now._

_Yuri and Erica: *former looks surprised as the latter nodded and they resumed talking*_

_Estelle: Maybe we should ask._

_Karol: I dunno…But… I can't help but be curious._

_Estelle and Karol: *moved over to the two elder adults a little*_

_Yuri: Really? They go that fast?_

_Erica: Yup; faster than the carriages here. Speaking of which, do you guys have horses here?_

_Yuri: Horses?_

_Erica: *looks surprised then went back to normal* Well-_

_Karol: Hey guys, what are you talking about?_

_Erica: Oh-! Uh, nothing; it's nothing really._

_Estelle: Are you sure?_

_Yuri: Yeah, that's all there is; nothing._

_Karol: But, what's a horse? I heard you guys mention it._

_Erica: …You ever heard of a unicorn?_

_Estelle: You mean from the legends that symbolize life, death and rebirth? Yes, I have; it's written in a book I've read._

_Erica: Then a horse is a hornless unicorn that comes in all shapes and sizes, comes in herds, and in many colors._

_Karol: *surprised like Estelle and Yuri* Really? Is there something like that?_

_Erica: Yeah, I suppose you can say that. Anyways, we've wasted enough time, let's go. *leaves but gets close to Yuri to whisper* We'll continue this later. *leaves*_

_Karol: A hornless unicorn…? I never heard of that before._

_Estelle: Me neither. What do you think Yuri?_

_Yuri: Eh, it's probably not important. (thinking) _'Still, a machine called a 'car'? There are a lot of strange things out there, that's for sure.'

_~x~_

We just entered the woods (again; and it seemed Karol is right, it DID take three hours to get here) when Karol turned to us. "Hey, I've been wondering… How come you guys – and Repede too, I guess – all have blastia? Aren't bodhi blastia pretty rare? I didn't think many people had them."

"You have one too, though," Yuri pointed out.

"I belong to a guild," was the boy's answer. "Sometimes we get a chance to get one."

"Sometimes?" I repeated, tilting my head a little.

"Well, yeah," Karol said, "I was just lucky to get my hands on one. There are a lot of people in the guilds that don't use a blastia."

I wonder if the Don uses one…

"Not only that, Ruin's Gate – the guild that excavates blastia – keeps finding more," Karol added.

"Huh," Yuri let out, intrigued, "there are even guilds that dig up blastia from ruins?"

"If there weren't, then the empire would control all the blastia," Karol answered. "Normal folks wouldn't get any."

"'The empire regulates the ancient blastia artifacts due to their potential danger'," there goes Estelle in recital mode. "I think that makes sense. If blastia weren't regulated, anyone could use dangerous magic."

"Or give out to those that would be stupid enough to destroy the world," I said, crossing my arms. Like Alexei. …And I have a feeling that the Commandant might've sneezed somewhere.

"But they've gone way overboard," Yuri said, "They have a monopoly." Or they may have forgotten the dangers of the blastia – a thousand years can do that to people. Look at the people in Tales of Symphonia; it didn't take them long to forget who _really_ caused the war. Seriously, what was Mithos thinking, putting more blame on the half-elves like that?

"Uh, I don't know about that…" …Estelle, you're _way_ too naïve for your own good.

Yuri rolled his eyes and walked on ahead, just passing Karol when the boy asked, "So anyway, what's your story? How'd you get yours?"

The dark haired man looked over at the boy. "…I used to be in the Imperial Knights," he finally answered. He lifted up his left wrist a little, looking over at it, adding, "This was a…going-away present." …In other words, a memento of Niren; the only captain that he looked up to for his idealism…even when the two of them argue at times. And to hear Yuri like that…it's actually disturbing…

He seemed to shake it off, looking back over to Karol and lowering his hand. "Repede got his as a keepsake of his old owner." …If so, then does Niren have a spare blastia or something? I made a mental note to ask him later…or Flynn once we caught up to him.

Karol seemed skeptical. "A going-away present?" He parroted, "It sounds like you stole it to me." Oh…! If Yuri ever explains his backstory to the others, then Karol might look back and might want to shove a foot in his mouth. The boy looked over at the pinkette. "…So, what about you, Estelle?"

The girl looked nervous. "Uh, I got mine from, uh…"

And Yuri saved her, saying, "Look at her; she's a noble. They all have these."

"I _knew_ you were a noble!" Karol exclaimed, snapping his fingers as if he figured something out. "Well, at least one of you has some class."

I gave him a blank stare. "What do you mean 'at least one of you'?" I asked, looking over him suspiciously.

"Uh…" The boy fidgeted a little under my stare. "W-Well, where did you get yours from, Erica?" At that, both Yuri and Estelle looked over at me (and I'm pretty sure Repede is too)-

…Oh _crap_. I hadn't even thought about that. How in the hell can I explain where I got mine? I don't even know how mine appeared on my head.

"Uh…" Okay, think Erica, _think_! There has to be something I could- Oh! "It's a gift, from my old man."

"Your dad?" Whew, at least Karol bought it…though Yuri already knew the truth about me.

I nodded. "Yeah, he specializes in repairing blastia – that's because he knows what he's doing, and incredibly smart."

"So, your father is a mage?" Estelle asked me.

"Nah, he's more of a fixer than a researcher," I corrected. "He fixed up the blastia I have and gave it to me. It worked pretty well so far."

"If that's the cause, then we should've asked your old man to repair the aque blastia instead of Mordio," Yuri piped in- Wait…is he helping along in my fib? "If the people of the Lower Quarter had enough money that is."

I tilted my head. "Well…I've seen most of the folks in the Lower Quarter," I said, "They seemed like decent people. I think my dad will have no trouble…so long as they don't piss him off; my dad rarely gets mad and he's really _scary_ when he is." It's the truth…but that doesn't mean that he doesn't mind jacking with people's heads at times.

Karol shuddered a little, as if at the thought of my angry dad. "Where is your father now?" Estelle's question got me to look over at her.

Crud. "Uh…I don't know, really," I said, "My dad moves around a lot to go to places to repair the blastia; he could be anywhere as far as I know…" My dad was still at work when I was brought here…

"I hope your father will be safe…" Estelle muttered.

I averted my gaze. "Me too…" I murmured.

A moment of silence went by…then Yuri broke it. "Well…let's go and try to find that nia fruit."

"Right…" I muttered, and we all walked into the woods once more, with me trailing behind Estelle.

Dad…I wonder how he's doing right now? He was still out since I got here and involved with Yuri. I know I said 'bye' to him when we left to college earlier, saying 'see you later' knowing that the three of us would be home at around the evening…but, technically, I'm still the innocent one of the three kids in our family. Tyler and Caitlyn knew of the, uh, sexual things before I did (and Caitlyn was around 6th grade at the time!). I'm still Dad's little girl…though, I suppose all girls are 'daddy's little girl'.

I let out a sigh. I miss my folks and sister already…I know it's only been two days, but…

"Something wrong?"

"Huh?" I let out, and looked over at Yuri. When did he get by my side? "Uh…what do you mean?"

"You look depressed for a moment," he said, "and being unusually quiet. Is something wrong?"

"…Oh, you saw that," I muttered, looking at the ground. I sighed a little and looked back ahead, seeing the backs of Estelle and Karol. Where'd Repede go? I shoved it to the back of my head – that dog really is a ninja. "I was thinking about my folks."

"Ah, so you're homesick."

I just nodded.

"By the way…" I looked back over at Yuri, seeing him giving me a look. "Where _did_ you get the bodhi blastia in your hair? I don't remember seeing it when we first encountered each other in front of Mordio's mansion."

"…Really?" I asked, raising my brow. That's news to me. I tilted my head in thought. "When did I get it then?"

"I dunno," Yuri said, "I saw it when I was talking to the old man at the jail."

…What?

Really? When did that-?

…I really AM an idiot. I should've known. When Kuro played with my head back there in the jail…he must've discreetly taken my hair-bow and replaced it with the blastia. Why is this guy helping me? It's not that I'm grateful or anything, but…I don't know, there's something about him that…isn't right.

"You looked as if you figured something out," Yuri's voice got me back to reality, and I looked over at him again, seeing the man raising his brow a little.

…I really can't keep expressions to myself, can't I?

"I…have a suspicion, but I have no way to confirm it," I told him. If I ever run into Kuro again, I have to ask him myself; although…I hadn't heard from him in a while ever since we left the castle…

Yuri looked over me for a moment…before he seemed to have shrugged it off. "Well, we shouldn't worry about it now," he said, "We better find the nia fruit, the eggbear and get out of here."

"Yeah…" I am _so_ not looking forward to the battle with the eggbear…

_~x~_

_**Skit: Getting to Know Repede**_

_Repede: …_

_Estelle: Do you mind if I scratch behind your ears? *tries to move to Repede*_

_Repede: *moves away from Estelle* …_

_Estelle: Oh, I'm sorry. I guess it's still too soon for me to pet you. Let's start over by getting to know each other a little better._

_Repede: *sighs*_

_Estelle: So then… My name is Estellise. *didn't notice Repede moving away* You knew that already, right? *Yuri comes in and looks around Estelle, who then noticed the dog is gone* Huh? Repede…?_

_Yuri: Introducing yourself to an invisible friend?_

_Estelle: Ohhh, I won't give up!_

_~x~_

_**Skit: Po verses Repede**_

_Erica: Man that was COOL! I've never seen a dog who could do THAT before! How come Po couldn't be as cool as you?_

_Repede: *Woof?*_

_Yuri: Who's Po?_

_Erica: A stray dog my brother saved. He's really sweet…but he's as dumb as a peanut sometimes…_

_Yuri: A peanut…_

_Erica: *moves closer to Repede* So what other things can you do Repede? Can you count? Read?_

_Repede: Grr…_

_Erica: Oh…uh, right *moves back* sorry. (thinking) _'It'll be a while before Repede warms up to me…he's just as cautious Yuri…'

_Yuri: Ah, don't worry about it. Just give Repede some time._

_Erica: Huh? Oh, okay._

_~x~_

…Why did it _have _to be in the exact same place? Really; _why?_

And in case you were wondering, we wondered around the woods to search for the fruit (while kicking some monster ass). It doesn't seem to be anywhere…except it was in the _exact_ same area where we found the old blastia earlier.

"Next up is the eggbear claw," Karol said, as Yuri looked over the two nia fruits in his hands.

"Are we going to walk around the woods and look for an eggbear?" Estelle asked.

Karol shook his head. "Not really; we'll never find one that way."

"So, in other words, it'll be like finding a needle in a haystack," I said as I crossed my arms.

"If that's the case, what do we do then?" Yuri asked the young 'Ace', raising his brow.

The whole time, I was trying not to hiss at the blastia that's around here somewhere. But…I didn't hear it hum at all. Did Duke come by through here?

Karol held out his hand. "Hand me a nia fruit, would you? I'm going to use it to lure out the eggbear. The eggbear has very unusual tastes, you see."

Yuri handed one of them to the boy without question…and I paced a couple of feet behind them as Karol pulled out a knife and-

OH _GOD_!

"Jeez, you smell horrible!" Yuri shouted, pinching his nose and I was using both hands to try to do so.

Oh dear, GOD-! It smells like all things horrible combined: diarrhea, baby crap, the sewers back in Zaphias, skunk spray and sulfur!

"_Me_?" Karol exclaimed in indignation, "The smell isn't coming from me!" He tried to move closer and we all tried to keep our distance from the boy.

"Please tell us when you're going to do something like that," Estelle told him through her covered mouth…as Repede fell over from the stench. I…don't really blame the dog; I wanted to fall over too! "Oh, no! Repede!" Estelle kneeled to the dog.

"The dog's sense of smell is stronger than ours," I said, "I hope the stench didn't kill him!" Not like it would but…

"Everyone keep a lookout!" Karol told us, "An eggbear could come out anytime now. And they're famous for their terrible ferocity."

"…Not helping, Karol!" I exclaimed; that isn't what I wanted to hear!

"So then, Captain Karol, I'm assuming that you're going to lead the charge against this terribly ferocious monster?" Yuri asked him.

I looked over to Karol to see him jerk a bit then turned to us. "O-Of course! But I could use a hand from you, Yuri."

"I'll help too," Estelle said. "Oh, and Repede also."

"Oh man…I guess I'll help too," I said. "I just hope that there isn't a cub with an eggbear – they're really dangerous if they have one."

"Why?" …He's supposed to be an 'expert', but he doesn't know about that… Go figure.

"If there is a cub, then we'll be torn to shreds," I told the boy, "Any animal would fight to the death to protect their offspring; and if what you said about the eggbear is true, then it'll be more ferocious…times _ten_."

The boy's startled yelp didn't really settle my nerves.

"Well…we won't know until we find it," Yuri told us, "Let's wonder around the woods until we find one."

Ah, man… I seriously hope that wouldn't come to bite us on the ass…

The stench coming off of Karol didn't help matters…

So we all wondered around the woods (again), searching for the eggbear. I heard the others talking about why the nia fruit was here, but I didn't really pay attention to them. I still have a problem of being illiterate; I can't ask Estelle now since I told that fib. And if Estelle or Karol mentioned my dad around the mages in Aspio or Rita, then I'm going to be in big trouble. Maybe it was my paranoia speaking, but I can't exactly trust Karol – we only met the boy this morning; telling him where I came from first thing…ugh.

Maybe I should ask Yuri – I'm not sure how much that'll help but…what else can I do? I don't want anyone else to be suspicious of me, and start questioning where I really came from. Yuri can't save my ass all the time.

I looked up to see Yuri and Karol (with Repede) up ahead, keeping their eye out for the eggbear…and I turned my head to look over at Estelle, who was walking alongside me. I let out a sigh. I have to tell her – I hate lying to someone so trusting as Estelle; she may have been naïve…but it isn't her fault. She's my friend…and if I had to get through this adventure, then I _have_ to tell her.

"Hey, Estelle? Can I speak to you for a second?"

She let out a grunt as we both stopped, turning her head to me. "What is it Erica?"

Okay…here goes nothing. "Uh…I…have a confession to make."

She blinked, like I expect her to. "What do you mean?"

"…I lied."

"Huh?"

I sighed again. "I lied about my dad…and where I got my blastia."

"…What?" Oh no, she took a step away from me.

"Listen Estelle," I began to say, "I don't want to hurt you or anything, honest!" I tried to take a step forward-

But she stepped back. "N-No! Keep away!"

"Est-" I began to say-

Then my eyes went wide when I saw a dark figure behind the bushes behind the girl. I gasped. Oh no…!

"Watch out!" I exclaimed as I grabbed the girl and-

Oh god. Pain. I never felt so much pain before…! I can't even give out a scream. Before I hit the ground, I thought:

'_That's it. I'm going to die…'_

I saw the edges of my vision going black; oh damn, I'm going to black out. I'm blacking out, and I'm going to die from that freaking eggbear; or any other monster that might be coming along.

Dammitdammitdammit-!

"_Get your ass into gear!"_

What?

I felt something coursing through me- what? What is this? I-

My brain registered my body moving to roll me and Estelle out of the way of the eggbear, pull out my guns and shot at it. …To be honest, I have no idea how long I was shooting. The bullets didn't look like they're doing anything. My head turned to Estelle and…I think I said something to her-

"GAH-!" I heard myself let out when I felt something punch me, and I crashed onto the tree-

My vision went white for a minute and I landed onto the ground. I tasted something irony in my mouth and I coughed. Oh crap, I'm coughing up my own blood… Whatever made my body go through that is gone now. I hurt so much…

My sight's getting blurry…I can't last long…

Well…at least I lived for twenty-two years. I guess I won't see my folks for a long, long while… I'll be seeing you Grandpa Bob-

I heard a roar, a loud bark, and-

My body feels so warm. The pain is fading away.

I took in a deep breath as my mind becomes clear again. What-? What happened-?

"Get your ass moving!" My head shot up to see Yuri fighting against the eggbear, and Repede growling at the bear-like monster before dodging its swipes. What? When did he-?

I looked around a bit before my eyes settled on Estelle. She had an apprehensive look on her face…before she made a determined look, nodding at me and stood up, drawing her sword and shield.

"H-Here," my guns where held up to my face and I looked over to Karol. I dropped my guns?

I looked at the battle and at the boy…and nodded. "Thanks you guys," I said as I took my guns. I got into stance. "I'm not going to die." I can't right now; I can't.

The battle with the eggbear begins.

Repede and Yuri led the frontal assault, and Estelle healed whatever wounds they might have received from the monster. Meanwhile, I shoot at the distance, using Twin Bullet and Bubble Stalker whenever I get the chance. Karol? Well…he's still scared, but he made use of his small stature to hand us some Gels whenever Estelle can't heal us in time or when we needed to use our Artes again.

Surprisingly…it, didn't take long to down the eggbear. Yuri just let the boy take the final blow; and the monster fell back with a great thud.

We all panted, staring down at the monster, and slowly looked over at each other…then Karol cheered, "Yeah! We did it! We did it!"

I was pumped on adrenaline, and I laughed. "Woo! I can't believe it! We did it!"

The two of us pretty much laughed like idiots and we held hands and jumped in a circle. Of course, our victory didn't last long when Yuri called out:

"Hey you two, we still have a mission to do!"

Oh, right. Eggbear claw.

The two of us split apart, and I smiled sheepishly as Karol nervously chuckled. "Right, sorry…" The boy said.

I looked over at the eggbear. "So, how do we get the claw?" I asked.

"That's easy," Karol said, "You just take the claw. It just comes right off."

I looked over at the boy, skeptical. "Just like that?"

"Just like that."

I looked over at the eggbear, then at Karol. I then shrugged. "Okay." I just said and I walked over to the eggbear.

"Wait, should you…" Huh? Why does Estelle sound so- Oh. Right.

"…It'll be alright," I said and I reached for the claw-

"Raaaagh!"

I let out a scream (and I heard other screams as well) at the fake roar. I panted heavily, in both fear and to regain my breath.

"Y-Yuri!"

"Th-That was awful!"

Oh man- getting light headed-

Oop- too late, was all I could manage to think before I fell over. I groaned a little. "…You-You _suck_ Yuri…"

"My bad." The bastard didn't _sound_ sorry…

I pushed myself up and dusted my pants off, with Karol saying, "It's a good thing we heard your gunfire. If we hadn't…"

I froze when he trailed off. "Y-Yeah…"

"Come on, let's head back you guys," Yuri spoke up, and I looked over to him to see him moving away from the eggbear. Oh, so he got the claw.

I cast a look over to Estelle, seeing her giving me a hesitant look. I let out a sigh through my nose as I frowned, turning my gaze to the ground. Seeing her giving me that look…it hurts.

I heard three footsteps moving away and I made to follow-

"Erica…?"

I blinked and looked over at the pink haired princess. "Huh?" I let out.

"…Thank you. For saving me." She tried to smile but…

I turned my gaze back to the ground. "…I don't want you hurt," I said and I followed the boys.

I then heard Estelle follow along as well.

The trek back to the Halure entrance is…silent. Me and Estelle don't have a lot to say after my near confession back there. I don't blame her for being wary of me now…but, it still hurts. I made a friend…and she's rejecting me… The pressure in my chest…I…

No. I-I can't cry right now. I-I don't want anyone else to pity me. It-I know it's for release and all, but-

I tried to take in deep breathes to calm myself down. Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry… I kept telling myself.

I heard someone talking to me, but I toned them out, still taking in deep breathes to calm myself.

In…out. In…out.

I felt something touch my chest, making me stop, but I still tried to calm myself down.

In…out. In…out.

I felt something shaking me and I looked over at…Estelle? Huh? "Are…you okay?" She asked, concerned- Wait, concerned?

"Huh?" I let out- dammit, my voice cracked. I looked around. Where did Yuri, Karol and Repede go?

As if to answer my silent question, the pinkette answered, "Yuri took Karol and Repede to scout out ahead."

I looked back over to her. "Then…why, are you here?"

She didn't say anything.

I sighed and looked away. "I…I'm sorry for lying to you back there… It…it's just…"

"Erica…" I looked back over to Estelle, seeing her looking away from me for a moment then back at me. "Can you…at least tell me this?"

"What?"

"Were you honest back at Deidon Hold? About you not having a lot of friends?"

I nodded immediately. "Yeah. Not a lot people get near me because of my strangeness," I said. "There are some…who accepted me for who I am… But I was picked so much…I don't socialize with people a lot. I hated lying, more than anything…I only lie when I have to."

"…So, who is your father?"

Right…I have to tell her. I looked over at her. "My father is a kind man, who loves his children very dearly. He's smart, reads people very well, and can fix just about anything. But, he can't fix the same thing forever; eventually, it'll stop working. But he tries – that's what counts."

"Then tell me…where is your father? Really?"

"…He…" I took in a deep breath and I sighed. "He's not on this world."

"Oh…so then he's-"

I shook my head when her head started to lower in guilt. "No, he's not dead if that's what you're thinking."

"Huh?"

Looks like I have no choice. I pulled my purse out of my bag (I figured it's going to be lost when we fight the eggbear) and unzipped it, digging around a little before pulling out my 3DS. "Here," I said, handing it to her.

"What is it?" She asked once she had it in her hands.

"…It's a small device that only exists in my world."

She looked over at me. "Your world?"

I nodded. "Estelle…this may come as a surprise, but… I'm an alien."

_**~o~**_

He watched from above as the Earth girl told the princess the truth about her. He smirked a little, as his black hair sways a little in the wind. "Heh…humans are so fickle… Some of them trust too easily, like the princess." He popped his neck a little. "There's barely any honest people left these days…"

Not like he was being honest with the Earth girl himself. He was just lucky to get her out of her house in time before _it _comes along and destroys her life.

Kuro had to make sure the others are under the pretense that he's using her trust to get them to become one of them.

They're liars, like him. They lied to him back then…and he's supposed to lie to her right now. Leading her like a Shepard would do with mindless sheep.

But he's the one playing this game now. He's using her for his own ends, really. As long as either of them – his comrades and the girl – doesn't know…

He'll get what he wants.

His ears picked up those three stooges from that living-dead man's brigade calling out for the ex-Knight and princess, and the so called 'Sky Woman'. He looked back down to the two, to see the two males and dog walking up to them. The princess waved her hands a little as the Earth girl rubbed her eyes. Huh, seems like she was crying…

Good. He needs her to have her rationality for this to work.

The dark haired man nodded. "Time for the 'darkness' to leave behind the 'light'," he said, then he vanished into a Dark Corridor.

He has other things to attend to, anyway.

_**~o~**_

"Are you sure you're alright…?" Karol asked me for what felt like a millionth time.

"Yeah…I am…" I said, sniffling.

Ugh…I ended up crying back there anyway. It's just…the feeling of Estelle accepting me, even after I told her the truth about me being from Earth… It took me by surprise…a…_good_ kind of surprise. I don't feel right at all taking advantage of an innocent and naïve girl like her – she's…too kind. It's so hard to find other people like her.

I…honestly didn't mean to cry – especially in front of her or Karol or Yuri. I was just…overwhelmed by her accepting me; just like that.

I guess…I really am lonely. I've…gotten used to being alone…but I couldn't stand being alone as well.

I really don't know myself sometimes…but…I guess a lot just don't-

"YURI LOWELL!" A familiar shout made me jump and we all turned to the source. "I KNOW THAT YOU'RE HERE IN THESE WOODS! TURN YOURSELF IN RIGHT THIS INSTANT!"

…Oh. I actually forgot about the Schwann Brigade.

"You've gotta be kidding me," Yuri sighed, shaking his head in exasperation. "Leblanc followed me all the way outside of the barrier?"

That reminds me, 'Leblanc' means 'white' in French. "White's dedicated, I give him that," I said, calling Leblanc by what his name means.

"Uh, what? Who followed you?" That was Karol, asking who Leblanc is.

"Just some guys from the Imperial Knights…"

I looked over at Karol, who stared blankly at Yuri when he answered. "Oh, yeah, good one," the boy said, laughing. "The knights are really chasing their own former member around." He continued to laugh, but it slowly trailed off when he realized that we weren't laughing. He then looked at us in shock. "Wait, are you serious?!"

"Surprise," I said blandly.

"I-I say, c-come out now, will you?" That was Tweedle A calling out, and he sounded scared.

"Sh-Show yourself now and we-we'll spare you and the sky woman a pummeling!" And that was Tweedle B …And they're still calling me that?

"Sky woman?" Karol asked, "Who's the 'sky woman'?"

"Not really important," I told him; I don't want any more conflict, thank you.

"Shaking in your boots at mere rumors," Leblanc scolded the two Tweedles, "and you call yourselves knights of the Schwann Brigade!"

"So, what're they after you for?" Karol asked the dark clad swordsman. "Vandalism? Fraud? Smuggling? Robbery? Murder?" I tried not to flinch at that word – the crime that Yuri will commit later on… "Arson?"

"Actually, it's more for breaking out of jail," Yuri told him.

I kept my mouth shut. I don't want to mention that I broke out of jail myself…but it was more on the assumption that I was Yuri's accomplice, since I appeared out of nowhere in the Royal Quarter. I cast a look over at Estelle, who gave me a look herself – she knew of my situation and I think she isn't sure how to respond to that.

So I decided to help chug this thing along. "Well, in any case, we should am-scray before we're caught," I said.

"That's something I can agree with," Yuri said. "Let's go."

"Wha-?" I let out when he quickly ran out with Repede following- what a minute, shouldn't they block the path or something? I then noticed Estelle and Karol (the latter reluctant) beginning to follow the dark haired man. I looked back, feeling a bit uneasy…then I followed the others.

Although this seemed…strange, I don't want to get caught by the guards and sent back in jail for breaking out of jail – and 'abducting' Estelle, the princess. I'd rather take my chances traveling around, fighting monsters…

Though I thought I heard screaming when I left. Maybe it's just me.

_~x~_

_**Skit: Weird Languages – Part 3**_

_Estelle: Erica, may I ask you a question?_

_Erica: What is it?_

_Estelle: Remember the words you told me and Yuri about in the castle?_

_Erica: Oh, the languages? Well, the language I used back at the castle is called 'Japanese'; one of the many languages that exists on Earth._

_Estelle: How many of them are there?_

_Erica: Hundreds of them. *shrugs* I only know a couple of them, but not a lot. So…I'm not multilingual._

_Estelle: I see… I never knew that there are so many things about your world, Erica._

_Erica: Our worlds are very different, all and all. _

_Estelle: How different?_

_Erica: Well…_

_Karol: *comes in* What are you guys doing?_

_Erica: Ah, nothing really Karol._

_Karol: Oh, really?_

_Erica: Sí._

_Estelle and Karol: Huh? _

_~x~_

_**Skit: Eggbear Slash**_

_Erica: *hisses in pain*_

_Karol: Hey, are you okay?_

_Erica: Y-Yeah. I just felt the throb from where the eggbear got me._

_Karol: Does it hurt?_

_Erica: Yeah, it hurts like a bitch. I hope the claws aren't infected or something…_

_Estelle: Why would you say that?_

_Erica: Estelle, we have no idea where that thing has been. For all we know, those claws may have been infected._

_Estelle and Karol: *shocked* I-Infected? ?_

_Estelle: *didn't notice Erica's surprised look* Oh no! What are we going to do?! There isn't a doctor around that can treat you!_

_Karol: *also didn't notice Erica's surprised look* Augh, this is my fault! If I had stayed by you guys, then you wouldn't have gotten that wound!_

_Erica: Uh, guys-?_

_Karol: What are we going to do?!_

_Estelle: Don't worry Erica; as SOON as we find a doctor, we're having you checked!_

_Erica: … *sighs, slumping in defeat* What have I done…?_

_~x~_

_**Skit: Helping Me**_

_Yuri: Hey Erica, what's going with you and Estelle earlier?_

_Erica: Huh? Oh, I…tried to tell her the truth about where I came from; I told her that I lied about where I got my blastia. She became wary of me even when I tried to explain myself._

_Yuri: Ah; so _that's_ why you took the hit for Estelle._

_Erica: I…I don't want her hurt because of me… She has enough problems trying to get to your buddy to warn him, and the Knights chasing us…and she's too nice for her own good. I'm not saying that as a bad thing, though…_

_Yuri: Did you manage to explain yourself?_

_Erica: Yeah…when you, Karol, and Repede went out to scout the area ahead of us. You…*blushes* saw the results, didn't you?_

_Yuri: Well…just goes to show that some people are sensitive. What's Estelle's verdict?_

_Erica: …She's…she still wants to be my friend… I…I had no idea what to think… It's…strange, heh._

_Yuri: *smiles a little* (thinking) _'She must've been so lonely; she didn't even realize it herself…or maybe she did and didn't know what to think. It's hard to tell what she's thinking.'

_Erica: By the way…why did you help me back there with my fib?_

_Yuri: *looks bored* Don't you want me to?_

_Erica: Uh…_

_Yuri: I figured that I should help along with your fib. You've told Estelle…now you've gotta tell Karol._

_Erica: *defeated look* Not looking forward to it…_

_~x~_

_**Skit: Barrier Blastia**_

_Yuri: Even though Deidon Hold was struggling without a barrier, they'd have had issues even _with_ one._

_Estelle: Yes, barriers really do have a big impact on people's day-to-day lives._

_Yuri: Well, they keep people safe from monsters just by being there. It's no surprise it changes things._

_Estelle: I want to help heal Halure's tree as soon as possible so that everyone can feel safe again._

_~x~_

We came back to Halure when the sun is setting. We actually made good time getting back here – we got back at around…seven. It took us an hour to find the ingredients, and three hours to get here from the Quoi Woods. We quickly made our way to the shop and handed him the ingredients for the panacea bottle.

"Wow, you managed to get all of them here," the man said in surprise, looking over at the three items that were placed before him.

"That's right," I nodded.

"Will you be able to make the panacea bottle?" Karol asked.

"Yes I will," the shopkeeper nodded. "It'll take me a while though; I should be able to finish it around night."

Hmm, that figures. In the game, you just select 'Synthesis' from the shop menu, select what you wanted to make – from weapons, sub-weapons, armor, recovery items, etc. – and voila! You got your item in like, two seconds. That is just game physics here.

Yuri nodded. "All right, we'll return later tonight to pick up the bottle." He turned to us. "In the meantime, we'll wonder around the city; don't leave or go too far, all right?"

"Okay," the three of us chorused.

The four of us (Repede is always by Yuri's side) split up after that, to wait for the panacea bottle to be made. First thing first…

I went up to the nearest person I could find, and I asked them, "Do you know where I can take a shower?"

I haven't bathed in three days; I wanna take a bath, _now_!

_**~o~**_

'_Damn, this is a lot of people…'_ I thought, looking around at the people gathered around the giant tree of Halure. Looks like everyone had heard the news about four people (and dog) having found a way to fix the tree.

I'm happy that I managed to get showered (well, okay, it's just a bath, but good enough for me I guess) and to brush my hair; and I also spent the time to get some soap, towels, toothpaste and toothbrush (I'm surprised they have those) and a brush – just in case that we won't be in sight of a town for longer than three days. Let me remind you, I AM a girl, so…you gotta understand, right? I also got me some new clothes since the others are dirty…and I gotta fix the brown coat and orange shirt later, too. Merely a black vest over a white, high collared top with no sleeves, a pair of black pants…and I'm still wearing my brown boots. Not exactly matching, but I could only afford so much…

Anyways, it's nighttime now, and, just like he said, the shopkeeper managed to make the bottle by nightfall. I spent most of the time (after shopping and bathing) just wondering around the city. The plants are _gorgeous_. Mom would kill to have plants like these in our yard.

Speaking of plants…would the events still go according to the game? What if Estelle's power won't be able to restore the barrier? What if the monsters decided to attack the town again while we're doing this? What if-

Augh, brain, get your head out of there! I said to my brain, looking over at Karol as he stepped forward carefully. When he got to the tainted dirt patch, he turned back to us. "O-Okay…I'm going to do it now." He turned back, holding up the bottle and working to pull the cork off of the bottle.

As he does, I heard Estelle talking to Yuri. "Didn't Karl say there was someone he wanted to show the blossoms of Halure to?"

"I think so," Yuri answered, and he sighed. "Here's hoping we aren't too late."

"…Me too," I said, looking over the tree.

Karol had managed to open the bottle and poured its contents onto the dirt until it was completely empty. Karol later shook the bottle to make sure it was empty before he stepped back. For a moment, nothing happened.

Then the tree began to glow. I blinked in surprise as Estelle let out, "The tree is…"

"Please, great tree of Halure," the mayor prayed. "Restore the fallen barrier."

We all watched as the tree continued to glow…I can feel the hope radiating from everyone…but, to be honest, I had been expecting it. Yet, it still took me off guard when the tree's glow faded away…

"The tree…" I muttered. I tried to tune out the disappointment everyone is most likely feeling right now, covering my face with my hand…and I'm feeling disappointed as well. The dirt under the tree is healthy again…is it too late? Is the tree too far gone for Estelle to use her powers to save it? Damn it…!

I heard footsteps and I looked up, seeing Estelle looking up at the tree, with a look of desperation on her face. "But…but we tried so hard…"

…I hated the look she had on her face. I…I wanted to do something. I wanted to make her feel better… I stepped forward-

"Wha-?" I let out when Yuri held up his arm, and I looked over to his face…why is he looking so surprised?

I looked back…seeing spores of light drifting off of her. I felt my eyes widen, as Yuri breathed out, "Estelle…"

Then…Estelle spoke with one word:

"Bloom…"

A sphere of light suddenly flashed inside of the tree, and the energy shot up into the sky from the tree itself. Spores of light floated around the branches of the tree, all of the blossoms glowing and blooming, the branches themselves suddenly becoming healthy.

I couldn't hear anything, my gaze fixated on the scene I'm seeing before me. The petals glowed brilliantly…and the familiar rings of the barrier appeared above the city once again.

I looked over at Estelle, who was panting, and trying to keep herself standing, the petals falling around us. "Wow…That was…"

"Amazing…" Karol finished, just as awed as I was.

Estelle's power is…incredible. She pretty much pulled a miracle out of her ass-

Then the full reality of what I had just witnessed hit me.

…It's because of this power that the Entelexia thinks of her as 'poison'. It's because of this power that Alexei will force her to use, creating his own Dein Nomos and forcing her to fight us.

At that moment, I realized:

I have to protect her. I know what will transpire. I won't let anyone abuse her power – not Alexei, not the Council; _anyone_.

I looked over at Estelle, seeing Yuri helping the girl up. Huh, I guessed I missed that.

Karol was laughing excitedly then held up his hand to Yuri. "We did it!"

A smirk appeared on his face before he did a high-five with the Karol. With the smirk still there, he said, "Flynn's going to be so surprised to see the flowers blooming."

"I bet he will," I piped up.

Estelle tilted her head at him. "You and Flynn seem to have such a strange relationship," I tried not to choke at that – I have to admit…I'm sort of a Fluri fan; though I only read those if they are decently written. "You are friends, aren't you?"

Yuri merely gave her a look and looked away. "He's…just someone I grew up with, that's all."

Hmm. I was somewhat hoping for more… Oh well.

We all heard Repede growling, and I'm pretty sure the others looked over at Repede to see what is wrong, but I was already looking at where Leviathan's Claw is at…and shit, Zagi's with them.

"Aren't those the people from the castle…?" I heard Estelle let out in shock – looks like they noticed the assassin/weapons guild.

And I don't really want to deal with Zagi again. "Ugh…" I cringed. "That bat shit crazy guy is with 'em!"

I heard Yuri cursing a little under his breath, and say, "We can't let these people get caught up in this."

I nodded. "They have enough trouble as it is."

"C'mon, we better get out of here," Yuri walked forward when he issued the command. The two of us nodded before began to follow our unofficial leader.

"Huh? What did I miss?" Karol asked, completely confused by our behavior. "Where are you guys going?!"

"There's been an issue coming up," I said, as the four of us casually made our way down the slope.

"H-Hey! Wait up!" The boy must've been desperate for company or something… I dunno really.

As for the promise I made to myself…I know it's not going to be easy. But I gotta try.

For the people who had accepted me for who I am.

* * *

**Must…stop here… I figured I made you guys wait long enough.**

**Next chapter: training, Aspio and a fire ball to the face. …That doesn't sound pleasant…the last part. (May not be accurate)**


	9. Rita, the Cranky Mage Girl

YAY! It's time to meet Rita!

**Disclaimer: I still own nothing, foos! …And I suck being a gangsta wannabe.**

* * *

"…ey. C'mon, get up."

Mmph. I don't wanna. Leave me alone.

I let out a grunt and I turned over in my sleep. I don't wanna get up yet. "…five more minutes…" I muttered, and I tried to get myself to go back to sleep.

There was silence for a few moments. The person trying to wake me must've given up. I nearly slipped back into the peaceful sanctuary that is sleep, until I heard:

"Well, you asked for it."

Huh-?

"UGH!" I let out when I felt something _wet_ run over my eyes! I quickly pushed myself up and I tried to wipe the wet stuff off of my eyelids (and I managed to make them hurt from the fiction I used in doing so). I opened my eyes-

"AH!" I fell back when a single green eye stared at me. I tried to scramble back but my back hits against something. I looked up and saw Yuri looking down at me with a small smirk. I looked back down, and saw that it was Repede who the eye belonged to. Wha…?

I let out a yelp when Yuri's legs moved and I fell back. Pushing myself back up, I looked over at the dark haired man. "Hey, what gives?" I asked him.

He said nothing, but he merely drops a wooden sword onto my lap. "C'mon, we better get some training done before we move on," he said, walking away.

I blinked in confusion. "Wait, what?"

Yuri looked over at me (his face and body became blurred when he moved out of my range of vision). "Remember what we talked about last night?"

Last night…

Oh, right. That. I remember now…

_The moon seemed to be high in the sky by the time we're far enough away from Halure. Earlier, the mayor wanted to reward us for restoring Halure's tree, but we all politely declined (except Karol who wanted the money, but Estelle is too sweet for that; the girl has no idea what she did so, no reward), since we're in a hurry to leave – but Yuri asked the elder man to give us VIP picnic seats to see the blossoms the next time we come over. …Along with asking the man for directions to where Aspio is._

_So now, we're heading for the mountain range (yay, mountains!). …I'm a mountain girl, okay? I grew up around mountains._

_Anyways, we've been traveling for a while, and I have no idea how long we've been walking. If I remember right, we left at around…nine, I guess; and I didn't bother to ask Karol what time is it. I don't want to bother him much. …Not only that, according to the mayor, the way to Aspio takes about two days. Ugh; not cool._

_I wonder how fast Flynn has to be to get some help for Halure…_

_We soon found ourselves at a wide space, nothing but a wide field, where Yuri announced that we're going to camp out for the night. No one disagreed with him, and we started to put our things down and to set up our small areas of the camp. This time, since we're in a wide open area, one of us would have to keep watch for the monsters. I volunteered to go first, since I'm still energetic at the moment. _

_We were pretty much getting ready for dinner – which is Beef Bowl; where in the hell did they get the ingredients? And its Karol's turn to cook (since I don't trust myself on accidentally burning our food) – I was sorting through some of the stuff in my bag (making it less…bulge-y and so that I can carry my crap around better). And…since I was pretty busy with what I was doing, I didn't notice someone coming up to me and tapped my shoulder a bit._

_I let out a grunt (at least I know it's a person – creatures don't ever do that; also I kinda got used to it back in college) and I turned to the source. "Oh, what's up Yuri?" I asked the dark haired man._

"_Mind if I talk with you?" He simply asked._

_I blinked, a bit surprised. "Uh…sure," I said, not sure where this is going._

_At my answer, the dark haired man took a seat next to me. After a moment of silence, I looked over him, blinking; I wonder what he wants._

_As if he's answering my (unspoken) question, he said, "Estelle told me what you told her while we were waiting for the panacea bottle to be made; about you being from Earth."_

"_Really?" I let out. _

_Yuri let out a grunt. "She was somewhat upset when she found out that I already knew," he told me, "But I told her the reason."_

"_Ah," I simply said. I am not a very good conversationalist, as you can see. I looked over at him. "Why are you really here?"_

_When I asked that, he went straight to business. "Remember when I said that you have no battle experience?"_

_I looked over at him, a bit miffed that he was still on with that- well, not that I can blame him, I SERIOUSLY have no battle experience whatsoever. "Yeah…? What about it?"_

"_What happened back at the woods when the eggbear attacked the two of you got me thinking," the man said, not looking at me. "If we hadn't heard your guns go off, you would've been mauled to death…or worse." Wah! I don't want to think about that! When Karol said that earlier back in the woods, I tried REALLY hard not to think about it. "If something like that happened again, with your guns out of your reach and Estelle in danger, what would you do?"_

_At that…I don't know what to say. I don't have any other weapons to defend myself-_

_Wait._

_I gave the man a suspicious look. "What are you implying?" I had a feeling but I wanted him to confirm it-_

"_What I'm implying…" he began before I could finish my thought, and he looked over at me- …I don't like that look in his eye. "Is that you need a bit of training in something else."_

"…_What?" I let out, not understanding. _

_He merely stared at me and then he flicked me on the forehead. "Hey-!" I yelped out as I covered my forehead-_

"_HEY!" I yelped out (again) when he simply shoved me._

"_This is exactly what I'm talking about," he said as I lay on the ground. "So Estelle and I talked about this, and we decided that during the morning hours, you and I would train and whenever we have to go on break or on during free time, Estelle will help you with our language and how to use Healing Artes. Sounds fair, don't you think?"_

"_Wh-What-?"I let out, pushing myself up in shock._

_The man clasped his hands together, looking satisfied with himself. "Then that settles it, we begin tomorrow morning." He stood up and walked off._

"_Wh- Wait, what? Wait a minute!" I exclaimed, getting up myself to run after him. "Don't I get a say in this? You guys can't just decide this!"_

_He merely held up a hand. "Then think for a moment: if you were using your guns and, oh say, a monster decided to come at you and you weren't quick enough to turn and shoot at it, what would you do?"_

_I stopped trying to follow him, finding myself unable to answer that. "Uh…"_

"_Not only that, we have to work on your reflexes as well," he added, stopping in place to look at me over his shoulder. "Like I said back at Zaphias, you gotta pull your weight, especially against a battle with monsters. And I can't save you forever."_

…_Yeah; the things that happened back at the castle and the woods are just pure luck. He's right; I can't rely on him to save my ass forever. And…I hate to admit it, but, if I wanted to stay with this group…_

_I sighed. "You…bring a good point."_

_The dark clad man nodded. "All right then, I'll see you in the morning," he said, turning and walking off._

…_I just stood there, unable to comprehend what I had just heard; and talked about. Yuri is a sneaky bastard, I give him that. I sighed, slumping forward. I'm not looking forward to tomorrow morning…_

After I finished remembering, I made a glare over to Yuri. "…You're an evil, _evil_ man, you know?"

He merely shrugged. "I've been called worse."

…Nothing fazes this guy. And I don't think he'll take a 'no' for an answer after last night. I sighed and placed my glasses on, and reached for my blastia-

"Hold it," I looked over at Yuri when he spoke up. He shook her head. "No blastia." That's when I noticed that he isn't wearing his bodhi blastia. His left wrist is bare.

I made a face at him. "Then can I at _least_ have something to pull my hair back? I don't want it to get in my face when we train." Speaking of which, how the hell can Yuri fight with that long hair of his? The only reason I could think of is that the man might've gotten used to it after a few years or so…

Yuri merely tossed a white string over to me, the thing merely landed on my blanket, near my leg. I gave it a bored look, then gave Yuri the same look and I sighed. "Better than nothing…" I muttered, picking it up and put my hair into a low ponytail – it'll do until I can fix my hair properly. Knowing that Yuri is rather impatient, I quickly got myself ready and stood up from my 'bed'. I didn't bother folding my stuff, they'll still remain there.

That's when I noticed that it's still kinda dark out. "Hey, what time is it?" I asked, looking around.

"It's around five," Yuri answered. …No wonder I'm still tired; well, that's what I get for staying up to be night watch. After this, I need to go to bed earlier from now on. I hesitated, looking back at Karol and Estelle as they remained asleep. As if he sensed my anxiety, Yuri spoke up, "Don't worry. Repede will stay to make sure that nothing bad would happen to them." Well, the dog _is_ strong after all…I have to take Yuri's word for it.

With that, I followed Yuri to a spot where the two of us would train. As we did, I noticed that the sky above us started to light up a little. I still couldn't wrap my mind around it, since I still couldn't figure out what compelled Yuri to train me – I know that Yuri still doesn't trust me, so…why?

I didn't bother to ask him, though. I'm not sure how he'll answer – he's a kind of man you can't read well when you first meet him. Despite Yuri being a video game character, sometimes, I like to think that they're real people. And seeing him before me, in flesh and blood…there is so much about him that I don't know about; the others as well. Will my prior knowledge make me arrogant in some of the things that might happen? No; I can't let anything slip. Not in front of Yuri, Raven and Alexei – Judith, I don't know.

The only reason why Yuri and Estelle believe my story of me being from Earth is because the former saw me fall from the sky and found my proof on accident and the latter is too…trusting. I hope Yuri (and some others) can help fix that.

I noticed Yuri stopping in a field…filled with nothing. No bushes, trees or even rocks. He looked around for a moment before nodding. "This place would do for now," he announced. He let out a sigh and drew the wooden sword. "All right, let's get this over with," he said as he turned to me with a bored look.

Tilting my head, I couldn't help but say, "You don't look thrilled to train me."

"Training is boring," he answered, putting a hand on his hip. "Sometimes experience is the best thing; but Estelle nagged me to at least help you learn the basics and stuff."

Oh. I should've known that Estelle might do something like this.

…Yet I'm not sure how much stamina I have for sword training. Swords are pretty common among RPG heroes, but, like my guns, I have no real experience with a sword. Sure we have the katana (normal size and small size) back at my place – that Grandpa Bob got from Japan – but they aren't the same.

I let out a sigh. "Let's get this over with then."

"All right," he said, "first, show me your stance."

"Err, okay…" I let out as I got into a rather basic (I think) stance, holding my sword up before me as I spread my feet a little.

Yuri tilted his head and moved over to me, looking over my stance as I stood still, feeling a bit apprehensive. He backed up and said, "Straighten up your back a little. Then make sure your feet are aligned with your shoulders. Your hands are gripping the right place, near the hilt."

Okay, the hand placement brought me comfort, but not a lot. I slowly did as I was told-

"Relax your back a little." I jerked when he spoke up. I relaxed a little. "Little more." I did as he said. "Bit more." I relaxed a smidge. "There we go. Now, hold your sword at around your waist – become too tense, and you might die." …Not very comforting, Yuri.

I took in a deep breath and did as he said. "How's this?" I asked.

He looked over me for a moment, rubbing his chin and then nodded. "Good. All right then," he got into a stance himself and said, "try to come at me. Lemme see what you got."

…Wait, what? Is he freakin' serious? ? "Don't worry," Yuri assured me, and I jerked, "I doubt that you can hit me that much. Just show me what you got."

Easy for him to say… I tried to relax, and I thought of some of the people who fought with swords (or something similar to those) and think of how I should proceed.

…You know what, screw it. I'll just wing it. Gripping my wooden sword tightly, I pulled my arms to my right, and rushed at Yuri. The man merely lifted his sword and parried my strike. I wasn't given a chance to regain my balance – since the parry caught me off guard – before he thrust out his sword at an angle where the flat part of the blade hit me in the chest and with a grunt, I fell onto my back.

I groaned where I lay and slowly pushed myself up. That…was _pathetic_ – I knew I couldn't land a blow on him, but to have fallen in, like, two seconds? That's just embarrassing!

A hand appeared in my vision and I looked to the source, seeing Yuri offering his hand. I looked back at it and, swallowing my pride (like I have any), I took his hand as he helped me up.

"Looks like we have some work cut out for us," Yuri said, letting go of my hand. "You need to know the basics, and after we find a stance right for you, we'll move on with footwork, and some other things necessary for you, like parrying and such. And after _that_ do we begin to spar."

…Why am I having a feeling that Yuri won't go easy on me, once we do so? Flynn and Estelle also know how to use swords but…Yuri is the only person I know and trust to teach me.

Then he looked serious, when he said, "Listen, learning to wield a sword is serious business – you can't take this lightly. Not only that, you and I both knew that you're a civilian. The training sessions will probably wear on your body and mind as we go along…you sure you still want to do this?"

"Uh…"

"What do you want to do?" He asked me, and I paused.

Yuri…he's pushing me to make my own decisions, like he did with Estelle and Karol at times. I have to admit, I don't think well enough on what I wanted to do. Some of the things I do are spontaneous, at most – and I don't think things through. And not only that…I always worry how anyone would react to some of the decisions I might make; it's…how I grew up. I do things I'm told and people approve of my actions. Like a robot…

But no one isn't going to approve of some of the things I might do – doing what I'm told might end up getting me killed…or worse. I can't let myself become a puppet to Alexei if he decides to try to use me.

I took in a deep breath again…and exhaled, nodding. "Yeah." I said. "It's like you said, Yuri, you can't save me forever. If I'm going to pull my weight…I have to train. I have to be strong enough to fend for myself one day. So I'll do my best." I'm determined to stay with this group – I'll get hurt, and everyone else will be too, but that's all right. I just hope I don't make mistakes that might cost either me or another person their life.

Yuri looked over at me for a few moments, then nodded. "If you're sure," he said. "All right, Four Eyes; get yourself ready – the real lesson begins now."

This is it, no turning back. I can't go back on my word. I lifted my practice sword, bracing myself for whatever was to come. …As much as I could, anyway.

_**~o~**_

I was sore by the time the sky completely lit up. I know for a fact that I'm going to be sore for a while – on the other hand, I needed the workout. Of course, Yuri didn't go easy on me with our lesson, the two of us working on my stance and finding some flaws. And the wooden sword hurts like a bitch whenever I got it wrong.

When the two of us went back to the others, I was tired. Of course, I knew that we have to keep moving to Aspio as soon as everyone is ready – so I have to suck it up and not complain like a bitch.

...And Estelle tried her hand at cooking, since she and Karol set up the equipment to make breakfast. Yuri was quick to help her out – telling her what type of ingredient goes good together in a specific dish and how long it takes to prepare it – while I was stuck picking up my crap. I muttered "Oww…" a few times, feeling my muscles throb as I folded my blanket, jacket and I had to put away my practice sword as well with my things into my bag…and I was again wondering how in the hell my bag could fit all of this stuff.

Finished – and putting my bodhi blastia on – I lied on the ground with a groan, staring up at the sky. I wanted to take the time to relax for a moment before we get moving. I couldn't imagine how heavy a real sword is – no doubt that Yuri's katana is pretty heavy – and I don't think my arms could get used to the weight of one. And even if I _did_ get one, which one would be perfect for me?

…I guess that depends on what my style is. Ugh.

Karol's face suddenly came into my vision as he looked down at me. "You okay, Erica?"

I stared up at the boy then closed my eyes, sighing. "Yeah, I guess so," I said, "Just…tired."

"What were you and Yuri doing earlier?" The boy asked me, "You guys weren't around when Estelle and I woke up."

Had I have any mean bone in my body, I would've said something sarcastic or mean with what Yuri and I was doing…but I don't. My sister took all if it away from me a year after I was born. But, on the other hand, I don't want to tell him the truth. So, I just said:

"Nothing much; we had to make sure that we weren't being followed by either of our pursuers." Karol doesn't need to know the real reason what we're doing.

"Oh," the boy simply said.

I nodded. "Yeah."

Estelle then called us over for breakfast, and we went over to have some. …Its fried eyes with a bit of meat between two bread.

I swear, if we EVER eat a sandwich again, I might start playing with it, like the Heavy. Yeah, I'd be sure to get some strange looks from people if I do.

Soon after that, we're off again.

_~x~_

_**Skit: So…who's Flynn?**_

_Karol: Hey, so just who is this Flynn guy, anyway? Were you and him seeing each other, Estelle?_

_Estelle: *confused* What do you mean 'seeing each other'? Flynn is Yuri's friend._

_Yuri: Yeah, that's pretty much it._

_Karol: Two friends going after the same girl? You got a little wild side, don't you, Estelle?_

_Erica: *surprised look then tried to stifle her laugh*_

_Estelle: *confused* What do you mean 'w-wild side'?_

_Erica: *bursts out laughing* Oh-Oh god! Oh-! Oh man! *laughs*_

_Karol and Estelle: What? What's so funny?_

_Erica: Oh… *chuckles a little* Oh, it's nothing. Nothing, really. *leaves*_

_Karol and Estelle: Huh?_

_Yuri: *bored look* She thinks this is funny…? Karol SO got the wrong idea…_

_~x~_

Just like the Mayor said, it took about two days for us to reach Aspio. The mountain range where the city is hidden was in view last night, but we managed to reach the mouth of the large cave Aspio is around the afternoon. During the whole time (besides fighting monsters), Yuri and Estelle switched between training me with a sword, reading their language, and trying my hand at using Healing Artes.

Most of the time, using the magic didn't end well. The first time I attempted it, it…I don't know _how_ but the magic somehow _exploded_ in my face. It took several tries, but I managed to do First Aid…though it's not as powerful as Estelle's (or perhaps Flynn's).

"Don't worry," Estelle told me when I first managed to get it right, "I had trouble with it as well; I'm sure you'll get it right."

"Yeah, sure…" I said at the time.

Along the way, I told Estelle and Yuri a bit about Earth. The many differences my planet has from theirs. We eventually talked about aer, and of…something that Estelle didn't know about – since the girl _did_ faint after touching the blastia back at the woods.

"What? So, there is no aer in your world?" Estelle asked.

"Nope," I shook my head as I answered. "Aer doesn't exist at all at my world."

"But…how in the world do you power your 'electronics'?" The girl asked, "Blastia needed aer in order to work."

"We use something called 'electricity'," I explained, "Since we don't have blastia, we use different things in order to live our lives."

"Yeah, I remember you explaining that back at the woods," Yuri spoke up.

I nodded.

"But, wait a second," Estelle suddenly spoke up and we looked at her, "If your world doesn't have aer…"

I stared at her for a moment, then blinked. "Wait…so I get sick easier since my body isn't used to aer?" I…kinda already knew that; but does my body really need aer (or mana) to survive?

"Huh," Yuri let out, "I guess that explains your little episode after Estelle fainted."

"Oh…! I'm so sorry!" Estelle exclaimed.

I sighed. "Don't apologize for something you didn't do."

Right, anyways, back to our 'mission' at hand.

It took a bit of walking through the tunnel and we came across the entrance to the city.

"It looks like this is Aspio," Estelle said, when we first saw it.

"It's so gloomy and damp here…" Karol let out, looking a bit unnerved. "It's giving me the chills, too…"

"I guess it has something to do with the city being in a cave," I said, rubbing my sore muscles. Man, Yuri is never gentle…

"I wonder if the lack of sun drives the people here to do shady things…" Yuri said, putting a hand on his hip, "Like stealing blastia cores."

"…Somehow, I doubt that," I muttered, knowing full well that Dedecchi and some other hand full of thieves are disguised as mages to steal the cores for Barbos and Ragou.

"At any rate, we better see if we can go in." Yuri then lead us further into the cave.

As we walked to the entrance, I glanced around the place, looking over at a few blastia stuck here and there. To think that this place was above a giant hoplon blastia…and when Duke revives it later in the game, intent on using the lives of every human in the world to destroy the Adephagoes…what of the people in this city? I'm…pretty sure that no one would be able to survive that… None of these people deserve that kind of fate. Can I somehow change it so that no lives will be lost? Would they even listen to my warning? I have a feeling that they wouldn't…

We soon came to the entrance, and Estelle stepped forward to one of the knights stationed there. "Excuse me," she began, "but we like to go into the city of Aspio, please."

The knight looked over at her. "Very well," he said, then held out his hand. "May I see your passport, please?"

"Our…passport?" Estelle repeated, surprised. I guess the others didn't expect that a place like this is _pretty_ important to the empire.

"This is an Imperial facility," another explained, coming over to her. "We can't just let anyone inside, can we?"

"Passport?" Karol let out, and I can tell that he was looking at Yuri when he asked, "You don't have one of those, do you?"

Yuri let out an 'I don't know' grunt. "Then, what about you, Erica?" My eyes went wide when Karol asked me that, "Your dad is from here, right?"

"Uh…"

One of the knights looked over at me. "Really? What is your father's name?"

I gave a worried glance over to Estelle; she seemed just as worried as I am, since she found out the truth about me. I took in a deep breathe, sighed shakily. "J-James Helms." I said – I know that they wouldn't find information about my father or mother; the three of us aren't born in Terca Lumireis.

One of them tilted their head a little, before they gave each other a look and back at us. "I'm sorry, but I never heard of a man named 'James Helms'," one of them said.

"Huh…?" Karol let out in confusion. I hope he hadn't caught on to the lie I told him.

Yuri stepped forward and spoke up. "Anyway, we have an associate of ours inside the city. Could you please let us through?"

"If you filled out the official visitation paperwork, then you ought to have gotten your passport from this 'associate' of yours," the knight that had approached Estelle said.

"This is the first we've heard, though," Yuri said. "If you won't let us in, perhaps you could call him to the gate for us?"

"What's your associate's name?" The other knight that asked for our passport asked.

I gave a mental sigh; here we go. I know what's going to happen.

"Mordio," Yuri answered.

Just as I expected, the two knights gasped at the name. Man, Rita must've been fearful if these two guys are scared of her.

"M-Mordio?!" One of them exclaimed in shock. As the two knights gave each other fearful looks, I can tell that Estelle and Yuri were both confused by their behavior. "W-We can't help you. You'll need to mail in a request and have a passport officially issued to you."

"Damn, don't budge an inch, do you?" I heard Karol mutter to himself.

"…I think they have a good reason," I whispered to him. "They sound…afraid, for some reason." I stepped forward. "Are you guys…afraid of Mordio, or something?"

"N-No, not at all!" One of them quickly denied (even though I know they are).

I have a feeling the others aren't convinced, but they didn't say anything.

"Um, excuse me," Estelle spoke up, "but did a knight by the name of Flynn happen to stop by here?"

The knight that asked for our passport stood stiffly. "All information about the establishment is classified," he said, as if he were a robot. "We cannot share even small details with outsiders."

"So you can't even tell me why Flynn was here?" Estelle asked, shocked. Girl, you have a lot to learn…

"No, of course not," the knight answered.

"…So what you're saying…is that Flynn really _did_ come here!" Estelle exclaimed in excitement.

"I-I don't know who you're talking about!" The same knight stuttered. "A knight named Flynn? N-Never heard of him!"

"Could we at least leave him a message?" Estelle asked.

"Give it up, Estelle," Yuri sighed, "We'd have more luck asking a brick wall for help."

"He has a point," I said, "I don't think they'll budge at all." I was half tempted to tell the knights about the fake Mordio…but, I don't want to risk it.

So we left the entrance to the city, and came to an intersection between the entrance to the city to the back door into the library-

…What is that?

Without even realizing it, I made my way over to the thing I saw.

…Is that a turnip? It looks…cartoon-y; and had a weird expression on it, three backward threes making the eyes and face, jumping up and down in the hole in the dirt. "…Is that what I think it is…?" I muttered, reaching my hand out to touch it.

As soon as I did, the cartoon turnip poofed into thin air. I let out a yelp of surprise, backing away in a hurry. Kneeling on the ground, when the smoke cleared, is a blue haired man in a white chef's outfit with red outlines on his outfit, and a golden colored large frying pan on his back. He straightened up and merely took off his glasses, and started to clean them.

…Holy crud, it's the Wonder Chef.

My eyes were wide in shock at this spectacle. "Uh…"

The man looked over at me. "Ah, you must be the girl from Earth," he said-

Wait, what? "You…know I'm from Earth?" I asked, raising my brows in shock.

"Of course," he said, tossing the glasses away, "I'm glad that someone had found me. I'm a part of the Wonder Chef family; we travel to many worlds far and wide, seeking gourmet food and travelers that appreciate the importance of fine dining."

I just stared at him, blinking. The…Wonder Chef family? "…There's a family of Wonder Chefs?" I asked.

"Yeah," he nodded, "I have a cousin that's around a world called Aselia – though it's separated into two worlds of Sylvarant and Tethe'alla, right now. All of us are very aware of your world, Ms. Helms, and of the fact that we're…'video game' characters."

I gawked. "But- You're not-" I tried to say, but he put his finger onto my lips to silence me.

"We know," he said, removing his finger. "My younger cousin had met up with another like you on that world; poor thing was used as a subject to a project of some sort. Though…you two are not really the same, I guess."

"…Huh?" I said, confused.

"Erica, there you are!" I jumped and turned to the source, seeing the others heading over to where we are. But, upon seeing the Wonder Chef, they stopped. "…Who's this?"

I didn't get the chance to answer when the man introduced himself, "I am the Wonder Chef." I looked back to see him take off his hat to curtsied, and putting it back on when he straightened up. "Your friend seemed like an expert food connoisseur to find me; I hide myself with elaborate disguises, waiting for those with potential to find me."

…I think it's because his disguises looked so ridiculous that people ignored him…

"For that, I'm going to reward her with a recipe!" He said, handing me a piece of paper. Taking it, I looked at the paper that I managed to make out…'Salisbury Steak'. There's even how to make it, and the list of ingredients to make it as well! "And these to make said recipe," he said as he just handed me a small bag that I had to take.

"Uh…thanks," I said, before handing them to Karol. "Hold on to them, please."

"Uh, sure…" Karol said as he took them.

"I have a feeling that we'll meet again," the Wonder Chef said suddenly and we looked back at him. "So I shall see you later. Oh and one more thing," he pulled out something – a plastic packet of sorts – and handed it to me. "Here you are. You seemed to love these types of nuts. Bon appetite!" And with that, he poofed away, leaving no trace that he was ever there.

We were left standing there, as if we were unable to comprehend what had just happened. "Uh…" I let out, "At least he's friendly…" I looked down at the packet-

My eyes went wide. No way…are-are these…?!

"The next time we meet…I'm giving that guy a hug," I said (in my mind, I had toon tears of happiness), looking over the bag of pecans. I love pecans…

"What? What are they?" Karol asked, trying to look over what I got.

"Nothing important," I said with a grin, putting them away in my bag. "Anyways, what do we do now?" I was referring to our predicament of getting into Aspio.

"Well, places like these should at least have a back door, right?" Yuri said, putting a hand onto his hip. "That's basically 'Plan A'. Plan B is when we had to scale the walls to get in."

…Not looking forward to that. I looked around for a moment, then spotted the door that leads to the library. "…Is that the back door?" I asked, pointing at it.

The others looked over to it. "Nice job," Yuri said, and he walked on over to the door.

…I'm not looking forward to meeting Rita. It would be a bit comical…but I don't want a Fireball to my face…

_**~o~**_

"Holy shit…" I let out, seeing the library. There are books _everywhere_. A lot of it is more for research material, but…I wonder if they have anything on story wise. There are a few people around, some of them in robes all of the mages wear (in different colors), some from the guilds (Ruin's Gate) and a couple from Fortune's Market. There weren't any civilians in here (except us).

Earlier, Yuri and Estelle had gotten into a small argument about either waiting for Flynn or going through the door Karol had unlocked with pick-locking skills. And Yuri expressing one of his reasons for quitting the knights – but I think I can understand that. What's the point of being in the knights if you aren't able to do what's _morally _correct? Flynn's old man chose to disobey orders because he loves his wife and son dearly; being a father is about self-sacrifice at times, and you have to do _everything_ you can to make sure your family is safe. …I think that's how Dad phrased it…

Anyways, I really couldn't help it; I wondered off earlier when the others were talking to one of the mages to ask where Rita lives. I already know where she is…though I think I'm giving Yuri a hard time wondering around everywhere.

Maybe I should go and try to find Rita myself – it'll probably be dangerous to seek her out alone…but I wanted to at least tell her about a thief using her name to steal blastia cores. Also, I wanted to at least get a few things. I have the money from the monsters, and a few parts that I don't basically need, so I sold those for a lot of money. I'm real thankful for Estelle for teaching me the monetary system on this world.

I sold a few things and used the money to buy a sewing kit and some cloth to patch my clothes, and I made my way out of the (HUGE) library. …This place might put a city library to shame.

I honestly couldn't help but gawk. Aspio is HUGE! I think I might have a problem trying to find Rita's place before the others. Let's see, Rita's home is a lone shack around here, right? So I just have to look for it, right?

With the plan in mind, I made my way to look for Rita's home. If I remember right, the home is on the far right side of the entrance to the city (if you are entering from there, at least). I looked around a little; a lot of people are too busy with their noses in their books to even acknowledge me. I suppose that's fine – I ignore people, so I guess I'm not bothered by people ignoring me back.

…I wonder if this is how Rita feels.

It wasn't long until I found the wooden platform that leads to the lone house sitting there at the cliff, a large crystal going through the small place. I looked around a bit more to make sure that I wasn't being watched before I made my way over to the place. Upon reaching the door, I found the sign that I remember reads, 'Keep out. Seriously. – Mordio.' Yup, this is the place. I know that Rita would be asleep underneath her pile of books…and I can't pick locks like Karol could.

I guess there's no other option. I did a silent prayer, hoping that I would survive…and I reached out to knock on the door.

"Hello? Anyone in there?" I asked, banging my hand onto it. A moment went by in silence. I tried again. "Hello? Err, Mordio? Are you in there? I wanted to talk to you."

Still nothing. I sighed; seems like I have to pull the same thing Lazlo did in Camp Lazlo, where they wanted to ask Ms. Mucus about their toys.

"Ms. Mordio! Ms. Mordio! Ms. Mordio!" I exclaimed repeatedly as I continued to bang on the door. I kept doing that for a few moments (or is it minutes? I dunno); I'm not giving up on getting Rita to get up-

The door clicked, as if it was being unlocked and I stopped.

My heart started to pound as the door slowly pulled back…and I heard a familiar ringing of a spell being casted, red spores of light drifting up into the sky. And I could've sworn I heard, "O flickering blaze, burn…"

"Oh-"

"FIREBALL!"

I let out a scream, falling to the floor as the balls of fire flew over me (one of them singed my face) and an explosion went off. I pushed myself up to see THE Rita Mordio with her hand out, having launched the spell that could've obliterated me.

…Holy shit, that was real magic. I would've been in awe if I wasn't so scared.

She's currently in her red-violet/white mage outfit over her other outfit (though I could see her mismatched boots) and a hood over her head. But despite that, I could tell that she was looking over me in annoyance.

I awkwardly raised my hand and waved. "Uh, hi…?" I said, "Are…you Rita Mordio?"

"What's it to you?" She said, and I could feel that's losing her patience fast.

I quickly pushed myself up to stand, and said, "If you are, could I have a moment of your time? I wanted to talk to you about something-"

"Not interested," she simply said, cutting me off as she turned to go back into her hut.

Oh shit-! Without even thinking, I rushed to her. "Wait a minute! At least hear me out-!"

I let out a hiss when I felt pain in my foot. Looking down, I saw that my foot was used to catch the door to keep it from closing all the way…and from how much pain my foot is in, Rita must've tried to slam the door on me. "…Oww…" I let out.

Gritting my teeth, I tried to force my way into her house (but the girl is a lot stronger than she looks), using my foot to keep the door from completely closing.

"What…the hell…is with you…?!" The mage girl grunted, trying to force the door to close on me. "I wanted…to be…alone…!"

"Not happening!" I exclaimed, and-

"AAH!" I let out when I suddenly slipped and my face had a nice meeting with the ground. Huh, so this is what it's like to fall face first to the ground-

My musings where cut short when I felt something collide with the back of my head. "OWW!" I exclaimed, feeling that something. It feels hard.

"Get the hell out of my house!" I heard Rita exclaim above me (is she the one who hit me with the book?). "Or else!

I pushed myself up to give her a look. "Or else what?" I questioned, standing up.

"This!" The girl suddenly launched a fire ball and-

I felt my back collide with the ground, and my face is in so much pain. I covered my face but it only made the pain worse. "God…dammit…!" I let out; it feels like my face had gotten sun burned to the extreme! I had my cheeks sun burned (or maybe it was because I rubbed them too much from the sand when we go to the beach) once, and it was NOT cool.

"I'm warning you for the last time," Rita said, "Get the hell out of my house, or I will _force_ you out!"

I wasn't listening…I was freakin' livid now. It took extreme will on my side to move my hands to glare up at Rita (who's hood was somehow down). "And I'm telling_ you_, that I'm not leaving until I at least talk with you, Ms. Mordio!"

"Fine! Have it your way!"

What happened next was…kinda strange. The two of us were wrestling on the ground, Rita trying to get me out of her hut and me trying to stay _in_ the hut. I gotta say, she's pretty strong for a mage…but I'm heavier, so, I did the only thing I could think of.

When Rita is on the ground, I sat on top of her, making sure that her stomach is to the floor so that she won't be able to hit me. "H-Hey! Get the hell off of me!" She exclaimed, trying to reach behind her to hit me, and I dodged the blows.

After a few moments, she seemed to have gotten tired and lied on the floor. I looked down at her. "Are you done?" I asked.

She turned her head to try to glare up at me. "As soon as you get off my back, I _will_ hit you." A threatening promise, eh?

I merely nodded. "I'm well aware of that," I said, "In the meantime; would you like to hear what I have to say?"

The girl let out a grunt. Seems like she doesn't care if I tell her or not. Well, too bad.

"All right then," I nodded, and I began. "A few days ago, have you been to the capital?" I asked, adjusting myself so that I won't crush the girl with my weight. …Or hurting her with my butt bone.

She gave me a look – raising her brow nearly so high that her hair might've eaten it. "No," she bluntly said, "I haven't been around the capital at all lately. I have no reason to go, anyway."

I nodded. I already knew that, but I made it look like it was news to me. "Okay, then…if you weren't around the capital, then how come there was a person named 'Mordio' around there?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Rita demanded, trying to turn to glare at me. "I've already told you: I haven't left Aspio. Period."

I tilted my head at her. "…If what you're saying is true, then…" I trailed off, pretending to think of this new information. I looked back down at her. "Do you have proof that you've been here this whole time?"

"_Yes_," the girl hissed, and pointed at the blastia at one side of the room. "I was busy looking over Victoria and going over some formulas."

I looked over at the blastia and back at her. "Vic…toria?" I slowly repeated – is she really so lonely to give blastia a name?

"Yeah, you have a problem with that?"

I blinked and shook my head. "Not really," I said, shrugging a little, "Whatever you do doesn't really irk me." I honestly don't care what people do, really; as long as it makes them happy, then it's enough for me.

"Yeah, well, the knights of the Empire don't give much respect to blastia," the girl made an annoyed look at the thought of the Empire. "Barely anyone does. Blastia are more complex than people give them credit for. I'm the only one who understands them. That's way…" she trailed off – but I know what she was going to say.

Blastia would never betray her – really, it is man that uses these things for their own selfish needs. To them, technology can't feel emotions like we do – they're built to do whatever we wanted them to do. Since technology gave us power, we're not too keen on giving them up…even if it means that we'll end up destroying the world and ourselves one day.

I nodded. "I think I can understand that," I said, and I stood up and moved away from her. "It's…not like it's the blastia's fault they're programed to do what they were doing. The function of the blastia in the Lower Quarter is to provide water to those people…while the rich and power just does whatever the hell they want with them."

"So…I think I can believe you're innocent," I turned to Rita who had stood up and just…watched me. "You don't seem like a type to steal something so important. But…" I rubbed my chin (pretending to think), "if _you_ aren't the one whole stole the core…then…" My eyes went wide. "Oh crap, how the hell can we explain this to Yuri?"

"Who?"

"A friend of mine who's hell-bent on getting the core back," I answered the girl's question. "…And I don't think he'll listen." He was pretty convinced that Rita was the one who stole the core in the game when they first met – it was after they explored the Shaikos Ruins that he realized that Rita isn't the thief he was looking for.

I glanced over at Rita to see her rubbing her chin a little.

A few moments went by as I stared at her. "…What?" I finally asked, blinking a little.

The girl looked back up at me and jabbed her finger at me. "You, wait here."

"Huh?" I let out as she walked past me and going up…the stairs? What? Shouldn't there be a ladder or something?

Now that I thought about it…I looked around the place. It's…just as messy as the lab she used in the movie. There are paper, books, science related stuff, like beakers, vials and some other things I couldn't hope to understand. There are a few diagrams that I couldn't understand – science pretty much flew over my head and I have no idea on pre-calculus – and some drawings that inscribe some formulas. …If I remember right, one of them is a formula for fire…right? At least, I think so. Also, there are crap-tons of blastia here and there – some of them…not connected, and whatnot.

How in the world can she find things in this – pardon my wording – dump? It's mind boggling; she might be worse than people that horde a lot of strange stuff.

I heard footsteps, and who would to come down the stairs than Rita – in her signature clothes…with a blue book in her arm. Before I could question what the book is, she shoved the thing onto my arms-

The wind was knocked out of me as I felt something collide with my stomach and I fell to the ground. Oh…god, Rita's punches _hurt_!

"That," she began, and I looked up at her, with her crossing her arms at me, "was for sitting on me earlier." She suddenly grabbed me by the front, hauled me up to my feet and she grabbed the back of my collar. "Anyway, you're coming with me."

"H-Hey!" I yelped out when she began to drag me. "What are you doing? ?" What the hell?! Where are Yuri and the others during all of this? ?

Seriously, it couldn't get any worse than this, could it?

As soon as Rita opened the door, I turned my head to try to get her to let go of my collar-

…And there are the others at the other side of the door, looking surprised by what they were seeing; Yuri's hand was raised to turn the knob to Rita's door.

I blinked owlishly and slowly raised my hand. "…Hi?" I hesitantly asked.

Yeah, it got worse; I _know_ it.

* * *

**Hrrrngh, I made you guys wait too long. It's pretty difficult for me to put down my/Erica's interaction with Rita. And another part in which I/she has to train with Yuri and Estelle. Originality is hard, man.**

**Anyways, is this chapter to your liking? I hope so.**

**Leave a review please!**

**Next chapter: going through the ruins sucks! Not as much as the Goliath, though. (may not be accurate)**

**(By the way, the Wonder Chef I/Erica met? He was referring to another self-insert that I've read. I wanted to see if you can guess what story it is.)**


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